By Casey Brockbank
Manchester’s chart-topping indie-pop quartet, The Lottery Winners, release KOKO today, their fourth studio album via Modern Sky. Formed in 2008, the band comprises lead vocalist, Thom Rylance, bassist Katie Lloyd, Rob Lally on guitar and drummer Joe Singleton.
The new release, short for Keep On Keeping On, is produced by Tristan Ivemy, and is a cohesive collection of 12 new songs, featuring collaborations with vocalists Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Shed Seven’s Rick Witter, and Frank Turner.
The Lottery Winners achieved huge success with their previous album, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, which reached No. 1 in the UK, beating household names such as Jessie Ware, The National and The Nines.
Since its 2023 release, the band’s fanbase is growing at a consistent and rapid pace. With KOKO, the band return to their roots writing songs like they always have, with even more intimate and personal storytelling about the narrator’s internal struggles, and self-growth journey.
The album opens with Superpower, a pre-released single in October 2024, that tells the story of frontman Thom’s ADHD diagnosis journey. The song contains clever rhyming and deeply personal lyrics in its verses, encouraging listeners to shape their insecurities into ‘superpowers’ and embrace imperfection. Its groovy and uplifting sound meshes well with its message, and is a strong opener to the album.
The third song, Panic Attack, is arguably the most memorable of the record. Its contagiously catchy chorus along with Thom’s emotional vocal delivery, makes it addictive to listen to. The narrator speaks about the harrowing and devastating experience of a panic attack with lyrics such as ‘My brain and body are just not aligning, oh no, I think I’m spiralling.’
The storytelling in this song is commendable and I’m sure many can relate to the themes. Whilst the song’s lyrical content is a sad recollection of a horrible experience, its sound is the opposite: a happy song to sing along to, with an incredibly infectious beat. Only The Lottery Winners could produce a song so musically ironic.
Ragdoll is a song that features Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, a band that The Lottery Winners supported on their 2024 Get Rollin’ arena tour. Bassist, Katie Lloyd, leads the song with her silky and melodic vocals and Chad’s raw, soulful voice marries wonderfully with them. This collaboration is a testament to their wide-ranging musical ability, and is a brilliant contribution to KOKO.
Another captivating song on the record is pop crowd-pleaser Turn Around, a single released just last month. It is one that features an instructional dance routine, and the perfect tune to help you forget your feelings: ‘Left, right, side to side, that’s right. Turn around and clap your hands.’
Thom describes the track as comparable to an ‘indie YMCA’ or ‘like a sexy Cha Cha Slide’, and it would be difficult to disagree with him.
One stand-out moment in KOKO is Three Wishes, because it shows the band at their very best. The beautiful blend of acoustics with soft violins and the blessing of smooth, harmonious vocals from Thom and Katie, make for a classic, lovable Lottery Winners song. It is an adorable love song about the narrator wishing for his life to be spent with a certain someone. Fans of the more gentle tracks from The Lottery Winners will be poised to gravitate towards this one.
And finally, the album wraps up with title track Keep On Keeping On, a slower pop song that sounds like a soothing reassurance to the listener that it is okay to feel down at times, but you have to push on through it. In fact, the lyrics ‘Keep on keeping on’ can be heard throughout the album in certain songs, so it is clear this is the overriding message of the record.
Frontman Thom Rylance has never shied away from speaking about his struggles, and is an advocate for opening up about mental health. This translates in his powerful songwriting.
KOKO is an album that will resonate with countless people and is a brilliant uplifting record that will help people navigate their own unique healing journeys.
Following this release, The Lottery Winners are concluding their European KOKO tour with shows in Berlin, Frankfurt and Paris. In the summer, the band are supporting Robbie Williams on his Live 2025 tour, in their biggest shows yet. They will be performing at the likes of Emirates Stadium, in London, Murrayfield, in Edinburgh, the Royal Crescent, in Bath, and the Co-Op Arena, in Manchester.
The Lottery Winners have really got their foot in the door in the industry, and following these milestones, they are bound to grow even further, with more success on its way.
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Unless otherwise stated, Text Copyright 2025 © Casey Brockbank/ADRENALINE Magazine.
Laura Amelia Bujauskaite 
Alisha Lawton