Pearl Jam tops the charts with the release of their new record, Smashing Pumpkins are making headlines with the announcement of a new guitar player and Shania Twain is headlining festivals – if we didn’t know any better, we’d think it was 1998… From the fashion to the attitude and, of course, the music, the ‘90s are having a bit of a revival at the moment, and we must admit, we’re all for it – and so is Lowlives’ frontman and guitarist Lee Downer.
Now heading up the grunge resurrection with his band, Lowlives, with their debut album Freaking Out due on 31 May via Spinefarm Records, Downer was once fronting a rather different project as the lead singer and guitarist for nu-metal/industrial outfit, The Defiled. While shifting from heavy hard-hitting metal to emotionally charged alt-rock may seem like an abrupt gear-change, Downer has always proudly worn his influences on his torn-up flannel sleeve, citing early Foo Fighters, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins as some of his biggest musical inspirations.
