Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys is an art-pop tender-noise band defined by their openness to sonic transformation. Formed in 2015 by frontwoman Lucy Kruger – a South African-born singer-songwriter and guitarist – the project took on its distinctively ephemeral shape after relocating to Berlin in 2018.
While inherently mercurial and in favour of collaborative freedom, the band anchors its sound firmly between the restraint of introspection and the rawness of release. Years of touring and recording have forged a shared visceral language – one that knows exactly when to hush and when to howl. Their trajectory, from the quiet solitude of bedroom recordings to the rich, often feral energy of the stage, reflects a commitment not just to the evolution of their sound, but to its sensation, emotional presence, and the body’s unrelenting need to speak.
For the past six years, with a signature grit and grace, Kruger’s voice has traversed walls of ambient noise, deftly weaving whispers and guttural invocations alike through a sonically haunted post-punk terrain. Her sonorous duality lends both softness and ferocity to the defiant sound producing a feeling that is both vulnerable and charged.
The band’s performances are held together by the tight, intuitive interplay between Liú Mottes (guitar), Jean-Louise Parker (viola), Gidon Carmel (drums), and Andreas Bonkowski (bass). Known for their immersive energy and their ability to shift between states of intimacy and abandon, the group’s approach is grounded in the affective physicality of sound – producing live shows that are celebrated for their emotional precision and force. Their desirous and deliberate musicality has drawn comparisons to Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
Their acclaimed ‘Tapes Trilogy’ (2019–2022) charts a deeply personal arc through contemplation (Sleeping Tapes for Some Girls), expansive transition (Transit Tapes, for women who move furniture around), and a wild embrace of identity and risk (Teen Tapes, for performing your own stunts).
In 2023, they released ‘Heaving’, an album preoccupied with the body and its unspoken urgencies – culminating in tracks like ‘Howl’, where Kruger’s voice and the band’s sound edge toward something raw, instinctive, and near-primal. A year later came ‘A Human Home’ – a lo-fi, collaborative exploration of connection and belonging, deepening the band’s commitment to emotional nuance and sonic experimentation.
The band has toured extensively for six years, with appearances at festivals including INMusic (Croatia), MENT (Slovenia), The Great Escape and Focus Wales (UK), Viva Sounds (Sweden), Northern Winterbeat (Denmark), Grauzone and Roadburn (Netherlands), Synästhesie, Reeperbahn, Orange Blossom Special, and Maifeld Derby (Germany), and SXSW (US).
In 2023, they were awarded the Europavox Spotlight Prize, performing at five of the platform’s showcase festivals across the continent. That same year, Kruger was selected as a Keychange participant – a global network and movement working towards gender equality in the music industry. Her voice also appears on the most recent album by The Underground Youth and the last two records by Swans.
On 13th February this year the band released their seventh studio album, ‘Pale Bloom’ – a culmination of years of writing, recording, and performing. The result is a glistening and emotive sonic emulsion that animates itself in the body of the listener, like an awakened desire stretching itself into being.
In support of the new album Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys are heading across to the UK for a select handful of dates. These being in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Bristol and at the Green Door Store here in Brighton on 27th March, with support coming from Debdepan. Tickets for all dates are on sale now and you can grab your Brighton date tickets from HERE.
www.lucykrugerandthelostboys.com
