Wigan four-piece The Lilacs have shared their latest single, Put The World To Rights, offering one final taste of their eagerly anticipated debut album Keeping Up With The Joneses, due later this year via Manchester independent label Scruff of the Neck.
Already shaping up as a major moment for the band, Keeping Up With The Joneses has been previewed by three singles, including Miss Behavin’, Girl Behind The Bar and What’s The Worst That Can Happen?. Now Put The World To Rights arrives as the fourth and final single ahead of the album, delivering the kind of huge, hook-driven chorus that has become central to The Lilacs’ rapidly expanding live following.
The Lilacs
Built for a crowd to shout back at full volume, the track captures the band’s knack for combining insistent melodies with an infectious, high-energy indie sound. Following the more recently released What’s The Worst That Can Happen?, recorded between Manchester and Paris, the new single finds The Lilacs leaning fully into the communal energy that has defined their summer festival appearances.
The band themselves consider it a particular highlight from the album. “Arguably our favourite track on the record, Put The World To Rights is the 4th and last single of our debut album and we think the fans are going to love it,” they say. “Releasing music is always a nervous time for the band, but there’s a genuine feel of excitement on this one. With it being the last single, it also means the album release is fast approaching!!!”
That anticipation has been building for several years. Formed by vocalist Ollie Anglesea and guitarist Sam Birchall, with Matt Johnson on bass and Dave Gomersall on drums, The Lilacs first emerged in 2019 with Vicarage Road. The band steadily expanded their audience, with 2023 single Grace providing another breakthrough before their The 395 (To Forever) EP reached the Top 10 of the Independent Albums Chart in 2025.
Their rise has been driven as much by the stage as the studio. The Lilacs have shared stages with The Lottery Winners and The Lathums while appearing at festivals including the Isle of Wight and Truck festivals. Their growing headline reputation culminated in a sold-out 2,700-capacity Manchester show, demonstrating the scale of the audience now following the Wigan quartet.
This summer has seen that momentum accelerate further. After appearing at Rock For People in the Czech Republic, the band returned to the UK for major festival sets at Kendal Calling, Tramlines and Latitude, before making their first appearance at Leeds Festival later this month.
With Put The World To Rights designed for precisely those kinds of large-scale gatherings, the band’s latest single arrives at a fitting point in their evolution: a straightforward, energetic anthem that feels ready to move from festival fields to increasingly large headline venues.
The next stage of that journey is already mapped out, with The Lilacs announcing their biggest headline tour to date for February and March 2027. The run will take them across the UK and Ireland before culminating in a major hometown-area show at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse on 3rd April.
The tour includes dates at Belfast’s Voodoo and Dublin’s Academy 2, as well as shows in Hull, Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, Southampton, London, Brighton, Bristol, Norwich and Lincoln. The scale of the forthcoming shows represents another significant step up for a band that has continued to grow organically, with their increasingly ambitious live performances now matching the size of their following.
There has also been a deeply personal chapter behind the scenes. Guitarist Sam Birchall recently received the all-clear following a year of cancer treatment. The journey has been documented publicly, but with the debut album now approaching and the band’s live schedule continuing to expand, The Lilacs are firmly looking ahead.
Keeping Up With The Joneses will be available in a range of physical formats, including CD, cream vinyl and a signed lilac galaxy vinyl with alternative black artwork through the band’s official store. Selected independent record shops will also stock an exclusive red Cornetto vinyl edition with a signed obi strip and alternate red artwork.
With Put The World To Rights completing the album’s run of pre-release singles, the wait is almost over. For The Lilacs, a band that has spent the past several years turning packed rooms and festival crowds into communal celebrations, their debut LP represents the next logical step — and potentially their biggest one yet.
Upcoming UK Live Dates:
AUGUST 2026
21st August – Winter Gardens, Blackpool (with The Fratellis)
29th August – Tileyard North, Wakefield (with Ocean Colour Scene)
30th August – Leeds Festival, Leeds
Headline Tour:
FEBRUARY 2027
26th – Voodoo, Belfast, Ireland
27th – Academy 2, Dublin, Ireland
MARCH 2027
4th – The Welly Club, Hull
5th – Digital, Newcastle upon Tyne
6th – Warehouse SWG3, Glasgow
11th – Octagon Centre, Sheffield
12th – O2 Institute, Birmingham
13th – The Level, Nottingham
17th – The 1865, Southampton
18th – Islington Assembly Hall, London
19th – Concorde 2, Brighton
20th – Thekla, Bristol
APRIL 2027
1st – The Waterfront, Norwich
2nd – Engine Shed, Lincoln
3rd – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
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