Joseph Lyons aka Eaves is in his early 20s and based in Leeds. His debut EP As Old As The Grave comes out November 10 on Heavenly Recordings. For a young artist, his music is devastatingly mature, dealing with heartbreaking subject matter and delivered with poise. "Alone In My Mind" is a Nick Drake-esque song based on the true story of Richard Mannington Bowes, a man who tried to extinguish a fire outside his shop and was attacked and killed by a 17-year-old kid. "As Old As The Grave" touches on Eaves' dealings with alcoholism. The topics may be ugly, but the songwriting is gorgeous.
First of all, can you just give us a little background? Where are you from? What kind of things are you into? When did you start playing music?
I grew up in Bolton, left over three years ago around the time I started writing music. Mostly spend my time reading and writing, generally milling around and keeping busy.
Writers and music. All people day to day, you find inspiration anywhere.
A lot of your music deals with very heavy topics. How do you feel about sharing these songs? Is it hard? Does it feel like a release? Or is it just natural for you?
They help to take a weight off. It's like putting things behind you. It's stuff everyone has to deal with at some point. I try and balance not taking myself too seriously whilst being as honest as I can be.
I'm into electro swing at the moment. Always Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Neil young. One day it could be Talking Heads and the next Mastodon. It always depends on the day.
I'm recording the album as we speak and it's wholly immersive and I like that. Looking forward to playing shows again but it's difficult to think about at this time.
What next for you? What are you looking forward to?
Releasing the album around spring next year. Doing the festivals runs. Mostly looking forward to getting the songs for the next record done and finding the time to put them down.
Watch a performance video of "Alone In My Mind" below.