Joe Symes and the Loving Kind have released their new video for the song titled ‘A Place To Call Our Own’. Animated by Jonathan Dolan, we get a perfectly matched blend of originality and stylized branding with this video. Creating a snarky visualizer for an already catchy song, ‘A Place To Call Our Own’ becomes a heartwarming catch of a hook-laden track that encapsulates the viewer and gives them something to carry with them for the rest of the day.
About Joe Symes and the Loving Kind
Like four other musicians who also called this major northwest city their home, they take great pride in the fact they churn out songs that are not only catchy, memorable, and instantly appealing, but cater to a wide range of people from all walks of life.
Joe Symes, along with Colin White, founded the band. It was while attending a local gig that the latter suggested to the former the name the “Loving Kind:” something that had been buried in his subconscious after listening the R.E.M song Get Up. After a sip or two of beer, the two agreed, set to work, and following one line up change added bass player Alan Welsh. The music world now had a powerful, explosive and foot tapping power trio on their hands. An act one spectator described as “sounding like nine people on stage, not a mere three.”
The band’s self-titled debut album, released on their own record label, Truly Independent Records, is a resume of their musical versatility. A record containing songs of the rock, psychedelic, dah-dah, easy listening, country and movie soundtrack variety. One international reviewer called it an indie rock classic and two tracks appeared on the Charity Compilation Shoulder to Shoulder alongside tracks by Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Robyn Hitchcock, Noel Gallagher, Pete Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and Wishbone Ash. This collection was organised by David Quaife, whose brother Pete was the original bass player of the British rock legends The Kinks. Creation Records’ Alan McGee even praised the album in question, even adding Hollywood stars like Matthew Modine, and Michael Keaton to the fan-base.
This was followed by the energetic rock orientated double A side single I’m Gonna Find Out Someday/Things Get Better: two tracks that shows their current heavy pop incarnation, and gave the listener a glimpse of the direction the second album would take them. The single was not only played during half time at Liverpool Football Club’s ground on several occasions, but was a three-week feature on BBC Introducing. Not too bad for the band’s second official release, spurring into more recordings and shows.
Keeping with the desire to show people more of their musical versatility, the next two releases took a detour down the unplugged route with the release of the Acoustic Variations E.P, and the Acoustic Variations E.P Volume two: twin extended plays that show a rock band can translate their compositions from heavy electric guitars and pounding drums to acoustic guitars, but with various forms of percussion and other instrumentation.
Shortly after this diversion, a limited edition single entitled You’re No Friends of Mine was released as a treat to their loyal fan base.
During the time-scale of these releases the band have not only gained major airplay and radio sessions in their native U.K but all around the world; predominantly in the U.S, Canada, and Australia.
But what do Joe Symes and the Loving Kind do best? What is the thing they shine at the most? The answer, of course, is live performance. Like their publicity resume, the list of places they’ve played and the other bands they’ve shared the bill with is equally impressive. Headlining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds After-show Party twice on the main stage of the Liverpool 02 Academy (the first time being their second gig as a full band), supporting The Blockheads, Dodgy, XTC, Republica, Alt-J, Bloc Party, Starsailor, and The Christians, being part of the Hillsborough Truth & Justice Concert at the Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, headlining the lovely Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, and bringing joy to audiences at venues and festivals right across the U.K in Manchester, Glasgow, Cheshire, Sheffield, Wigan, Nottingham, Shrewsbury, Northwich, Leicester, Wigan, Crewe, Stoke, Blackpool, London, and various parts of North and South Wales.
September 2018 saw the eagerly anticipated release of the band’s second album Phase II: a ten track rock classic that leaves the listener wanting more. Production of this album took place in several locations such as Peter Gabriel’s Solid State Logic Studios, Oxfordshire, the Motor Museum, Liverpool, Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, and Abbey Road, London. Like the previous releases, the album gained airplay on radio stations, as well as being featured in reviews, magazine interviews globally, and endorsed by celebrities from the world of show business on both sides of the Atlantic.
And finally coming up to the present, after taking some time off from live performances, the band began 2020 by working on a new 4 track E.P, which is released on the 4th March 2022, and in addition to that have been included in Volumes 3, 4 and 5 of the book series Plug Inn: the Continuing Story of the Liverpool Music Scene, which chronicles the past 50 plus years of north west acts.
So, to sum it all up: Joe Symes and the Loving Kind from Liverpool, U.K, One of the most exciting new bands to come out of Liverpool (according to the late early Beatles manager/Merseybeat promoter Sam Leach, R.I.P).
To quote Ryan Martin from Chicago based station Jammerzine: “Take note if you are thinking of starting a band, or wanting to get your music heard. This is how it is done.”
The band has not long finished a two-and-a-half-year tour, playing major venues across the UK and parts of Europe, supporting major acts such as The Christians, Dodgy, XTC, Republica, Bloc Party, Starsailor, and Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller), as well as headlining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds After-show Party on the main stage of the Liverpool 02 Academy 1 twice; all in promotion of their critically acclaimed second album Phase II: an album that has gained airplay on radio stations all over the UK – primarily being a six week feature on BBC Introducing – and the rest of the world, as well as reviews, magazine interviews, and endorsements by celebrities from the world of show business such as Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice, Batman, Jackie Brown), Robin Weigert (Deadwood, Sons of Anarchy), Michael Shiflett (Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Evan Almighty), Matthew Modine (Birdy, Full Metal Jacket, Pacific Heights), Andy Moore (Emmerdale), and John McArdle (Brookside, Emmerdale, And the Beat Goes On), to name a few.
LINKS:
https://joesymesandthelovingkind.co.uk
https://twitter.com/JoeSymesandTLK
https://www.facebook.com/joesymesandthelovingkindUK
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCza-xfDuCsWphAK782F4AiQ
https://www.instagram.com/joesymesandthelovingkind
https://www.reverbnation.com/1joesymes
https://soundcloud.com/joesymesandthelovingkind
