Their popularity fuelled almost entirely by fervent word of mouth, Wigan four-piece The Lathums became one of the UK’s most anticipated bands in 2020. “The tunes just resonate with people,” guitarist Scott Concepcion tells Apple Music. “Every generation had that defining band and we want to be that for this generation,” adds singer Alex Moore. Produced by The Coral’s James Skelly, EP “Ghosts” is their richest offering yet. From The Libertines-play-Madness stomp of “I See Your Ghost” and the breezy sun-soaked bounce of “Corporation Street” to “All My Life”’s love-drunk melodies and the cinematic sweep of “Foolish Parley”, it’s a volley of songs destined to be sung out loud by an ever-growing legion of fans. Here, the band talks us through its breakthrough EP. I See Your Ghost Alex Moore: “I feel like ska is kind of within us. It’s like a natural sway to the body. It’s inside you, your heartbeat. You bounce to that rhythm so you can make that music quite naturally. Singing the verses in this so quickly was a little bit tricky but it’s kind of like a muscle memory now when I do it. It’s ingrained in me. Maybe I could be a rapper in my next musical venture.” Corporation Street AM: “When I wrote that I wanted to do something a bit more upbeat, something a bit happier. That was one of the ones where it just kind of happened. They’re usually the best ones. The transition from the verse to the chorus feels very natural because it was natural, it just happened. Instead of me thinking, ‘What chord can I go to here?’ It just naturally told me—the song guided me.” All My Life AM: “This was the first song I ever wrote. We had this garage at home that we turned into somewhere for my grandma to stay and eventually I turned into a bit of a music room. I was just sat in there one day and it came out. I ran into the living room to play it to my mum and dad, they didn’t even know I’d been trying to write a song. When I’ve played it to people recently they’ve really liked it. They were quite shocked and surprised that it was my first attempt at writing.” Foolish Parley SC: “When I first met Alex he was messing with this song then he sort of left it for a bit.” AM: “I had it for ages. I was tinkering with it and I showed it to Scott and we started playing with it. It came together in the studio. It came out quite close to how I had it in my head. It’s got an almost Spanish feel to it. It’s got quite a harsh, demanding sound to it. It’s kind of a strange song.”