“We love the idea of creating a huge sound without the cliché of being a four-piece rock band. It challenges us all more.”
North East duo Mascara’s Lies are making their presence known in the North East music scene by challenging the boundaries of the pop and rock genres as we know it.
From what started as the pair of multi-instrumentalists working together for coursework in secondary school (which morphed into their first song ‘Noughts and Crosses’), a lot has happened since then, with the group being able to practice, make music and overall progress as a band during the extensive time in lockdown.
When speaking to the duo, what was interesting to learn about Oscar McCall-Smith (Guitarist) and Joe Richardson (drummer) was the dichotomous musical influences that they fuse together into their music. Oscar heavily leaned towards rock musicians such as Muse, Royal Blood, Death from Above 1979 and De Staat, whereas Joe tended to favour bands/artists that are associated with pop, with the likes of Lewis Capaldi, George Ezra and Twenty One Pilots being a huge influence. Their tastes in music are showcased through their own work, as Oscar notes: “We fuse them together to create groovy rock instrumentals with pop ideas in the music, like structures or lyrical directions. It makes for diversity between songs.”
In terms of live performances, Mascara’s Lies exuberate incredible energy and passion as they, without fail, capture the crowd’s attention with their stage presence. The two will continue to do so, with the band set to perform several gigs over the course of this year, expanding beyond their hometown of Middlesbrough to other places in the North East such as Newcastle and Darlington – and even as far as Nottingham in the East Midlands. However, the biggest gig that the pair will be performing to date will be at The Georgian Theatre in Stockton on Wednesday 5th April.
Moreover, for those interested in new music, the band aim to record new music over the summer in Blank Studios in Newcastle. Oscar added: “We are really excited to be able to share our new music with everyone soon.”
I’m certain that I can speak on the behalf of others when I say that Mascara’s Lies is a band full of potential.
To find out more about the band, head to Instagram.com/mascaraslies.
