Only The Poets

At their core, the best bands are inclusive entities. A space where ideas, vulnerabilities and creativity are all shared between members in the name of creating music that is not just new and exciting, but songs that are uniquely theirs. That gang mentality certainly fizzes through Only The Poets, although rather than the oft-heard ‘us against the rest of the world’ manifesto that has knitted past groups together, the Reading four-piece’s music soars because their inclusivity extends to everyone.

From the band’s chain-like creation onwards – former solo singer-songwriter Tommy Longhurst linked up with bassist Andy ‘Roo’ Burge when the latter’s band split; they then recruited Marcus Yates after he filled in on drums when they played the venue where he worked, before he then recommended his old bandmate guitarist Clem Cherry to complete the line-up – there is an emotive bond at the heart of Only The Poets’ that just invites the listener in.

Parental record collections, of course, played their part in informing their widescreen, immersive heart-swelling songs that radiate with raw feelings and horizon-filling melodies – and while The Cure and 90s British indie might have had a more direct influence on that sound, exposure to the likes of Freddy Mercury and Elton John revealed the power of a big, communal sing-a-long – but growing up in Reading and nearby Banbury, the Reading Festival also loomed over the band members’ late-teens, dropping an annual hint (notably witnessing Arctic Monkeys’ first headline slot) that a “small town existence” wasn’t the only option thanks to music