ALBUM REVIEW: The Lottery Winners – KOKO

I reviewed The Lottery Winners’ previous album, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, for this lovely website in 2023. I highlighted the band’s avoidance of orthodoxy, ludicrous work ethic, ability to create earworms at will and a desire to play live at every opportunity. So, has anything changed in the following 23 months?

The short answer is no. The band continues to graft and throw everything into their music, getting it into as many ears as is feasible. This proved fruitful in helping to get their previous album to number one in the album charts. If something works for you, don’t go fiddling with it. They use social media to a good effect, creating utterly mad content. They spend more time on the road than the Eddie Stobart fleet.

The band are keen to work with all kinds of different musicians, constantly mixing it up and widening their musical experiences, also putting their music under the noses of the fans of those musicians. Why not? Networking has always been a thing in business. However, the Lottery Winners tend to work with those with whom they feel a connection – a collection of outsiders who exist on the outer perimeters of the music industry for numerous reasons. However, they also all have a loyal fan base who love them for this reason, as do The Lottery Winners themselves.

KOKO, an acronym for Keep On Keeping On, offers twelve tracks for our consideration and delectation. After the success of Anxiety Replacement Therapy, will KOKO continue to propel The Lottery Winners up the musical league table?

“Wired up wrong since the day I was born”, proclaims Thom Rylance, the band’s enigmatic and thoroughly lovable frontman in the opening funk-infused track, ‘Superpower’. Focused on Rylance’s ADHD and how some people tend to view neurodivergence as a superpower, he battles with the good points that come from his ADHD (and his neuro spicy smorgasbord) as well as the downsides. He opines that he wouldn’t want to be any other way, which is to be applauded. As someone who is neurodivergent, I sometimes get a bit mardy when people mention the whole ‘superpower’ thing as if I should be grateful. It’s not like being a Marvel character. It is more complex than that, but it can have its advantages. All hail being wired up wrong since birth!

Featuring Jon McClure from Reverend and The Makers, ‘You Again’ sees bassist and vocalist Katie Lloyd duet with him on a song about being unhealthily obsessed with your ex. It is a pumping pop song with a slight air of 80s Fleetwood Mac. It is the kind of song you’d have blasting as you drive along in your convertible on a sunny day, cruising down at A580 towards Leigh.

If you’ve never encountered the music of Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Touré, I suggest you seek out his work. I mention this as the album’s third track, Panic Attack, which contains a wonderfully bright and infectious guitar sound from guitarist Rob Lally that reminds me of his work. With this track, think of Paul Simon’s Graceland but with a disco vibe. It is such an upbeat and vibrant song for such a debilitating issue. That juxtaposition works well and gets you to understand the experience of a panic attack (very accurately) without brow-beating you into submission. The track ends positively as Rylance sings, “We’ll get through this”.

We slow down with ‘UFO’, a track that examines Rylance’s childhood experience. Childhood as an undiagnosed neurodivergent person can be very confusing. You feel as if you don’t belong, as if you are from another planet. You enjoy crawling back to your safe space, your sanctuary. There, you can be yourself and do what you enjoy without worrying about others. Rylance gets this across well in this emotive ballad.

Lloyd brings her beautiful, breathy vocals to ‘Ragdoll’. These are counterpointed with the rasping howls of Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, the song’s co-writer alongside Lloyd and Rylance. A punchy rock ballad penned on the last day of Nickelback’s UK & European tour last year, where The Lottery Winners supported them, the song explores controlling partners, toxic relationships, and the challenge of breaking free. Lloyd adds a vulnerability to this track, which builds, resulting in an epiphany where her strength comes to the fore.

‘Struggling’ touches on supporting someone going through a tough time. The message is simple: reach out, don’t shut out. This isn’t always easy when you are mired in a dark place. Rylance expresses his commitment to stay by their side, no matter how challenging. This track would be awesome performed by a gospel choir! Just a suggestion…

With Robbie Williams feel to it, ‘Turn Around’ is a good old-fashioned pop song. It will likely be the track most likely to give you an earworm. Maybe it’s why Mr Williams has invited the band to be his support act on his UK and European tour this summer. With a middle eight that sees Rylance stating, “A day above the ground is a good day/Every day above the ground is a good day”, it is another good example of mixing more serious themes with a catchy tune to get it into your head. The Lottery Winners – improving the world’s understanding of mental health and neurodivergence through stealth.

The band sometimes throws you off balance. They literally do this in ‘Monaco’. The use of pitch control in the chorus creates the sensation of being a bit wobbly on your feet—musical labyrinthitis for the masses. The track follows a theme in their previous album’s song ‘Jennie’. In a very captivating tune, Rylance sings about wanting to escape to a calmer place with someone so they can find the time and space to breathe and explore a new way of living. Are they running from their problems? Are they trying to reignite a stagnant relationship and blame their busy lives for the deterioration? Or are they just wanting to live a better life in a more relaxed way, simply being happy? I’ll leave it for you to decide.

‘Three Wishes’ is a stripped-back, gentle folksy-cum-country ballad. It is a chance to catch your breath before we enter the home straight on KOKO.

Frank Turner racks up his hat-trick of appearances on albums by The Lottery Winners on ‘Dirt and Gold’. Arguably the best track on KOKO, it is a proper tubthumping, rousing anthem dripping with energy. Turner and Rylance are such natural bedfellows, and it shows itself here in abundance. “This ship is sinking and sinking fast/But at least we’ve got our violins/And we’ll keep playing and playing loud/’Cause we’ve got our songs to sing/And they mean everything”, they pronounce. With magnificent driving drums provided by Joe Singleton, you will find it hard to sit still. One bit of advice – whack the volume up and let this track rattle your windows. Weirdly, it would be a great Eurovision song. That’s not criticism. I love Eurovision! And I reckon Eurovision would love The Lottery Winners, too.

Shed Seven joins the party next, helping to create a majestic-sounding song that comes a close second to the previous track. ‘The Ceiling’ is another spoken word tour de force from Rylance, creating another great, full-sounding indie-pop song. Musically, it strikes me as a blend of Madness and the Lightning Seeds. Lloyd provides a beguiling bass line as Rylance dedicates the song to those who are underappreciated, undervalued, and lost. Within the track, we are reminded to keep on keeping on, a refrain that is repeated on numerous tracks across KOKO: neuro-linguistic programming, Leigh style.

We close with ‘Keep On Keeping On’ (you see, they’re at it again!), which sends us off with a positive frame of mind. Although we may lose ourselves in the challenges, life throws at us, just keep going. Remember, this too shall pass. Stop and smell the flowers. Take a moment to simply be. Embrace mindfulness. It may sound peculiar, but this song should contain some whistling. It just seems it would be a perfect fit. That aside, you leave the album feeling refreshed and a little more thankful for what you have.

It’s hard not to like The Lottery Winners. Everything they’ve achieved, they have deserved through hard work and commitment. They can tackle tricky subjects but do it with a constructive, positive and upbeat approach. They produce songs that stick with you. They are down-to-earth and keen to stay that way. They have developed a loyal following despite record labels telling them they weren’t good enough and didn’t look right.

KOKO will undoubtedly see them continue to scale the tricky heights of the music business. After all, never underestimate the underdog. And this one has a fine set of gnashers. They will collect more fans throughout the summer as Robbie’s fanbase is exposed to their unique talents. The Lottery Winners are superb live (go and see them and tell me I’m wrong) and will be an asset to the massive arena tour they will be embarking upon. I fully expect some form of collaboration with Williams to appear at some point in the future.

You won’t be disappointed with the band’s fourth studio album. You’ll dance singalong, wander around the mind of Thom Rylance (wear comfortable shoes), and want to listen to it a lot. The band is as addictive as a big box of Maltesers. Once you open the box, you can’t get enough of them. The Lottery Winners – an overnight success after almost 15 years!