“I am ready to take on the responsibility and inconvenience that it takes to foster community, for without each other, we have nothing.” — Pledge from the Ugly Duckling Union Handbook (Found tucked in the vinyl sleeve of Lowertown’s latest LP).

By Jack Oatway

After three years, a frustrated separation from their old label, and a confrontation of their own unhealthy co-dependency, Atlanta-based indie-rock duo Lowertown returns with their new LP, Ugly Duckling Union. This twelve track half-concept-album-half-auto-dissection takes the infectious, proudly unpolished, cat’s-tongue-esque songwriting of the band’s prior work and filters it through a brutally honest attempt at self-reflection. The result: one of the greatest indie-rock records of the year, which I had the pleasure of experiencing live at Belgrave Music Hall and the honour of chatting about with Lowertown themselves afterwards.

But before Lowertown took the stage, solo artist Sarah Meth set the moody atmosphere. Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “I kind of care but don’t really”, Sarah’s one-woman-act incorporated acoustic guitar and a sampling machine, setting an understated instrumental bed to compliment her seraphim vocals, reminiscent of Mary in the Junkyard and the new Black Country, New Road album.

Two standout tracks from Sarah’s set were Don’t Touch Me You’re My Hero, a powerful guitar-based song whose title and central refrain twists the common aphorism of never meeting your heroes into a harrowing, personal account; and a melancholy track I didn’t catch the title of, but recall the chorus of clearly still: “To know him well was a lonely world”, sung as a warning call to all the future women that will date a man she once loved.

Lowertown opened their set in pitch darkness, with Avsha Weinberg plucking away at the new LP’s opening track Mice Protection. The indecisive words on the opening verse repeating ‘maybe’ over and over painting a portrait of a broken identity, unsure of who they are or how they feel. Olivia Osby, the other half of Lowertown, sings with a soft, strained tone, a staple of the band’s sound, especially on Ugly Duckling Union. Very quickly, the energy of the set blossomed, with touring members Sean Henry on bass and Immanuel Pennington on drums completing the lineup.

This tour marks the second time Lowertown has played in the UK, and this specific gig the second time Lowertown has come to Leeds. Previously, they came supporting Wednesday, so this marks the first time they played Yorkshire as the headline, and the room was heaving for them. The pinnacle of the set, as confirmed when I spoke to Lowertown afterwards, were the two back-to-back walls of death, both occurring on the track (I Like To Play With) Mutts. On the records, [Mutts] already stands out as one of the heaviest cuts, but live, the track took on another level of ferocity, the audience devolving into a mosh pit of mutts scraping it out themselves.

In my chat with the band afterward, we discussed the album and the duo’s future plans. I jokingly expressed my disappointment at the set list’s exclusion of my favourite track from Ugly Duckling Union: Echo of Desire, a bed-ridden contemplative listless song about the tendency to create ideals of people in our head, and the disappointment that can follow when that illusion meets reality. Avsha vehemently agreed, citing the track as his favourite too.

We spoke about the tour, with the band members stating how these past few shows have been the most exciting UK gigs they’ve played yet. As our conversation wrapped up, we talked about future UK gig plans, with the duo expressing their love of the music scene this side of the pond, and their eager desire to return and play more shows in future. As a lover of Hebden Bridge’s legendary venue the Trades Club, I suggested they consider another show in Yorkshire for the band’s next tour. Fingers crossed we’ll be seeing more of Lowertown in Yorkshire soon!

Lowertown’s sophomore LP Ugly Duckling Union is out now on all streaming platforms.

Sarah Meth and Lowertown played at Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds on 3 September 2026.