The Lickerish Quartet, made up of ex-Jellyfish members Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Beck, Air, Cheap Trick, Imperial Drag), Tim Smith (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Finn Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Umajets) and Eric Dover (Imperial Drag, Slash’s Snakepit, Alice Cooper, Sextus)— are proud to announce the release of their third child, THREESOME VOL. 3.
Set for release May 20 on Stranger Danger Records and Tapes, distributed by Burnside and the Orchard in the U.S. and by Lojinx in the U.K. and Europe, THREESOME VOL. 3 makes its way into the world via remote writing, recording, and mixing. The challenges we’ve all faced these last years forced Roger, Eric and Tim to finalize this EP through a series of emails, and phone calls. Home recording studios were redesigned and outfitted to complete the final four songs that were originally written together in 2017.
THREESOME VOL. 3 completes the trilogy started with the release of THREESOME VOL. 1 in 2020, which was called a “masterpiece” by many critics and fans alike. THREESOME VOL. 2 was released in early 2021, and its first single, “Snollygoster Goon,” showed another side of the band and its versatility as writers, singers and musicians.
Check out the first single and video “Fortunately,” here:
It’s a bouncy tune sung by Tim Smith that drips with the signature harmonies and melodic structures THE LICKERISH QUARTET have been known for, alongside a deeper, darker lyric that speaks to the universal ideas of heaven, hell, dogma and belief. As a co-write with their executive producer, Adam W. James, Eric’s slide guitar soloing, Roger’s keyboards and string arrangement, and Tim’s melodic bass lines combine for the listener to perhaps harken back to early FM radio hits of the ‘70s.
“New Days” will be released as the second single on April 22. As sung by Roger, it’s a tale of remembering the past with the longing psychedelic hope of the future. Eric’s lyric touches pastoral images of optimistic youth and shaping moments with the desire to keep moving forward, onward, and probably westward. Lush reverb guitars, grooving bass and drums with evolving vocal harmonies celebrate the hope we all share for new beginnings.
“You All Alone” starts with a jarring string ensemble as Eric’s lead vocal then weaves a story of obsession and pursuit. Jagged drums and bass, razor wire guitars and another excellent string arrangement by Roger leads our hero towards satisfaction, but at what cost? Who is the hunter, and who is the hunted?
“In The Meantime” rounds out the EP. Sung by Tim, the song ponders where do YOU go when you are feeling the crush of a world you no longer recognize? Topical, but also timeless, “In The Meantime” proffers to float rather than sink or swim. The theme of burying down deep is married to a pulsing, shouting wall of guitar sound and fury, but with a non-violent narrative. Those most precious things that bring us happiness–to love someone, do something, or have something to hope for–are sung about with fearlessness.
THE LICKERISH QUARTET continues to engage with their fans via their website and “Experiences”–a series of collaborative connections of writing together with folks, performing on songs submitted to the band, personalized songs and messages, lessons in songwriting and production, as well as numerous Zoom-hosted breakdowns of their songs in-studio followed by a Q&A with the fans about the process, choices made, and equipment used to create their music.
Meanwhile, Sony Japan recently partnered with THE LICKERISH QUARTET to release all three EPs on June 29, as a collection entitled FABLES FROM FEARLESS HEIGHTS, which will include two previously unheard cover songs, as well as a special “best of” vinyl LP in that region. Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/1k6eyoq
