Lach


Lach is an American singer-songwriter, writer and broadcaster, best known as the founder of the Antifolk movement in New York City.[1] His work includes six studio albums, the BBC Radio 4 series The Lach Chronicles, the novel Langdimania, and the poetry collection A Thin Book of Poems.

Early life

Lach was born in Brooklyn, New York. He learned to play classical piano at a young age, but turned to rock music after discovering punk bands like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned, and the Jam. Lach went to college but quickly dropped out to live in Las Vegas, resuming his education at Boston University, where he met his later bassist Geoffrey Notkin.[2]

Career

Lach moved to Greenwich Village in New York City in 1983, looking to play the renowned Folk City club. Having been rejected by the club's bookers, who believed his music was too "punk", he moved to the Lower East Side, opening his own illegal after-hours club, the Fort. The opening of the Fort coincided with the New York City Folk Festival, so Lach held an event at his club called the New York Antifolk Festival, which remains a popular event in the East Village.[3]

In 1993, Lach brought The Fort to the back room of the Sidewalk Cafe in Manhattan's East Village, where he hosted the weekly open-mic night, the Antihoot, which became a fixture of New York's Antifolk scene.[2]

Music

Studio albums

Contender

Contender, Lach's debut album, produced by Tom Goodkind,[4] was released in 1990 by Gold Castle Records.[5] Contender was described by Trouser Press as bringing "more imagination to faux-folk than many of his better known peers."[6]

Blang!

Blang! was released in 1999 on Fortified Records and was described by Billboard as "A wholly enjoyable voyage into a strange and brilliant musical mind!"[7]

Kids Fly Free

Kids Fly Free, produced by Richard Barone, was released in 2001 by Fortified Records.[8] AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson wrote that Blang! remained Lach's "most essential album", but that Kids Fly Free "runs a close second."[9] Writing in Billboard, Larry Flick described Kids Fly Free as Lach's "strongest, most assured set", calling it a "radiant set of tunes" that "deftly teeter between classic folk and rockabilly."[10]

Today

Today, produced by Richard Barone,[11] was released in 2004 by Fortified Records.[12] Mojo gave Today four stars, with Manish Agarwal describing Lach as "an acute tunesmith" and the album as a "tight set divided between imagistic love songs and character sketches protesting America’s wider malaise."[13]

The Calm Before

The Calm Before, produced by Lach,[14] was released in 2007 by Fortified Records.[15] Movement Magazine described The Calm Before as Lach's "finest release to date", calling it "heartfelt, intelligent, good-humored, and expertly constructed" and praising the "irreverent attitude that has become the hallmark of the Antifolk aesthetic."[16]

Ramshackle Heart

Ramshackle Heart, produced by Lach and Neil Halstead,[17] was released in 2011 by Song, by Toad Records.[18] The album was subsequently re-released by Fortified Records in 2013.[19] Writing in Uncut, Nigel Williamson said Ramshackle Heart "captures all that's best about the 'anti-folk' movement: a mix of beat aesthetic, punk attitude and smartass wit."[20]

Writing

A Thin Book of Poems

The Thin Book of Poems, Lach's debut poetry collection, was published in 2015 by Fortified Publishing in association with Desert Hearts Publishing.[21][22]

Langdimania

Langdimania, Lach's debut novel, was published in 2023 by The Book Whisperers.[23] Langdimania was named Debut Novel of the Month by the major review site LoveReading4Kids, with the site's Editorial Expert Joanne Owen writing, "This zany fantasy adventure takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the wild imagination of its 12-year-old hero. It’s fast, it’s funny!”[24]

Radio

In 2013, BBC Radio 4 began broadcasting The Lach Chronicles, a series written and performed by Lach and produced by Dabster Productions.[25] Three series were broadcast between 2013 and 2016.[26] The series was selected as a "Top Choice" by Radio Times[27] and as a "Pick of the Day" by both The Observer[28] and Scottish Mail on Sunday[29], and was the subject of a two-page feature in The Scotsman which described Lach's stories as "warm, poetic, rhythmic, funny."[30]

Discography

  • Contender (1990)
  • Blang! (1999)
  • Kids Fly Free (2001)
  • Today (2004)
  • The Calm Before (2007)
  • Ramshackle Heart (2011)

References

  1. ↑ Light, Alan (August 11, 2006). "How Does It Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Lach". All Music. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ Light, Alan (August 11, 2006). "How Does It Feel, Antifolkies, to Have a Home, Not Be Unknown?". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Lach". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Album Releases" (PDF). Billboard. October 6, 1990. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Lach". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  7. ↑ "CMJ at The Fort" (PDF). 1999. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Kids Fly Free - Lach". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Kids Fly Free - Lach". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  10. ↑ Flick, Larry (March 23, 2002). "Continental Drift" (PDF). Billboard. p. 17. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Richard Barone". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Lach". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  13. ↑ Agarwal, Manish (June 2004). "Today". Mojo. No. 127. p. 111.
  14. ↑ The Calm Before (CD liner notes). Fortified Records. 2007.
  15. ↑ "The Calm Before - Lach". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  16. ↑ "The Calm Before". Bandcamp. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Ramshackle Heart". Bandcamp. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  18. ↑ Valvona, Dominic (July 21, 2011). "Lach – Ramshackle Heart (Song, By Toad Records)". God Is in the TV. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Ramshackle Heart". Bandcamp. February 14, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  20. ↑ Williamson, Nigel (August 2011). "Ramshackle Heart". Uncut. No. 171.
  21. ↑ "The Thin Book of Poems". Goodreads. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  22. ↑ Robinson, Lynne (January 12, 2015). "Coffee & Poetry (& Antifolk Tales)". taoStyle. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Langdimania: a novel for young adults is published today". The Edinburgh Reporter. April 6, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Brave New Words". CYMERA: Scotland's Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  25. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - The Lach Chronicles". BBC. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  26. ↑ "The Lach Chronicles". Dabster Productions. Retrieved August 21, 2026.
  27. ↑ "The Lach Chronicles". Radio Times. 2013.
  28. ↑ "The Lach Chronicles". The Observer. July 14, 2013.
  29. ↑ "The Lach Chronicles". Scottish Mail on Sunday. July 14, 2013.
  30. ↑ Smith, Claire (July 16, 2013). "Gather round the campfire and listen to the adventures of Lach". The Scotsman.

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