Writing has always been my coping mechanism to deal with the worst times in my life. If I couldn’t write songs like ‘Worry’ when I was feeling as bad as I was, that’s when I’d have a problem. Writing songs releases those dark emotions, so it’s healthy for me. Anxiety Replacement Therapy , The Lottery Winners’ fifth studio album, includes collaborations with the likes of Boy George, Frank Turner and Shaun Ryder. Should it hold on, it’ll become their first UK chart-topper, as well as their first LP to enter the Official Albums Chart Top 10. See The Lottery Winners’ Official Charts history in full . Jones, Alan (27 January 2023). "Charts analysis: The Reytons score first No.1 album". Music Week . Retrieved 4 February 2023. Shaun is from just up the road to me, in Little Hulton. The lads from my estate where I grew up in Leigh were enemies with the Little Hulton lads. We’d meet at a park to fight, so when Shaun came to the studio, I wasn’t sure whether to give him a hug or a right hook. I went for the hug.”

The Lottery Winners - Anxiety Replacement Therapy / Modern The Lottery Winners - Anxiety Replacement Therapy / Modern

Freya Ridings’ sublime Blood Orange becomes the London-born singer-songwriter’s second Top 10 album to date (7), while The Damned’s Darkadelic also provides the English punk outfit a second, and rounds out this week’s new Top 10 entries (9).

It was because I had ADHD, growing up when the awareness of it wasn’t as good as it hopefully is now. For me, school was: ‘He’s a bad egg, get him out’. I grew up feeling I didn’t fit in, because adults told me I didn’t. ‘Letter To Myself’ is me saying: ‘Actually, you’re going to do good things. Don’t worry, keep being you, because it’s OK to be you. You’ll become proud of yourself’. I’m in the process of getting that diagnosis. It’s so glaringly obvious I’ve got it that I’ve never thought I needed it confirmed.”

Anxiety Replacement Therapy by The Lottery Winners Anxiety Replacement Therapy by The Lottery Winners

READ MORE: The Lottery Winners talk new album ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ with Shaun Ryder, Boy George and Frank Turner NME: Hi, Thom. How are you feeling? Have you stayed in the more optimistic place the album ends on?

Begin Again, with its salsa feel, and chilled-out Hello Love stop the record becoming too monotonous, and Pearls is a charming song with stunning vocals and a funky bassline. I knew that, on another day, people could have been really hurt. It was important to do something about it. I’ve always felt emotions so strongly. I feel intensely happy or intensely sad, there doesn’t seem to be a middle. Sertraline helps me reach that middle. I’m not telling anyone to get medicated, but I can say it’s really helped me.” ‘Money’ features Shaun Ryder. He seems a kindred spirit to you. Is that a fair comparison? LATEST | NI traffic alerts: Full list of road closures due to flooding and Larne road closed after collision Writing songs really is my anxiety replacement therapy. Once I realised the acronym of ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ is ART, I thought: ‘That’s genius, and it’ll look great on a T-shirt. Let’s have it!’” Although the album mainly focuses on distanced relationships, the tender closer Send For Me sees Berninger open himself up to intimacy, singing “Send for me whenever, wherever” to end positively.

The Lottery Winners – Anxiety Replacement Therapy - RETROPOP The Lottery Winners – Anxiety Replacement Therapy - RETROPOP

Each of the albums in my collection are a self-help tape for me,” explains singer Thom Rylance. “If I listen to Paul Simon’s Graceland, it’s because I know it’ll put me in a good mood. If I play The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, it’s because I want to embrace feeling sad. We wanted to present ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ as a self-help tape for anyone playing it.” Formed in 2008 in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, this buoyant indie pop quartet are inspired by the carefree and playful aspects of both pre- and post-Britpop-era chart sounds. The Lottery Winners came together primarily over their shared love of the Smiths, and this was the act to which Sire Records boss Seymour Stein compared them when he signed the band in 2016. There was a lengthy delay between the recording of their self-titled debut album and its release, but it finally saw the light of day on Modern Sky in March 2020. It reached the Top 30 of the U.K. album chart. A covers album, Sounds of Isolation, kept their star in the ascent and was followed by 2021's Something to Leave the House For. 2023's Anxiety Replacement Therapy reached number one in the U.K. HOMETOWN Leigh, Greater Manchester, Englandhas been a spectacular year so far for The Lottery Winners. The last few months have seen them support Frank Turner, embark on a headline tour and release Anxiety Replacement Therapy – the follow-up album to 2021’s Something To Leave The House For, which placed at #11 in the album charts and saw the band garner support across the board at Radio 1, Radio 2, 6 Music, Radio X, Virgin, XS and Amazing Radio. The support for the Leigh four-piece has only widened since and the album’s been topping the charts all week long. Never. When we first started, we got invited to Blueprint Studios, where Elbow rehearse. One day, Johnny Marr came in. The Smiths defined me as a person, they taught me I’m not alone in how I feel. When Johnny walked in, I was a total fanboy. The Damned were never the most political of punk groups but Beware Of The Clown is a clear reference to a recent prime minister, Vanian warning: “He’s not so charming, the joke’s wearing thin.” The following week, the album broke the all-time record of the biggest second week drop from No.1 in the UK album charts, when the album vacated the top 200 altogether selling 880 copies. The previous record was only set the week prior when Enter Shikari dropped to No.126 from the summit.

THE LOTTERY WINNERS - Anxiety Replacement Therapy THE LOTTERY WINNERS - Anxiety Replacement Therapy

Neal Barnard is a man of many talents and many passions. Impressively, he’s found a way to blend his work, encouraging people to eat and live well with that of his work as an artist […] If I listen to Paul Simon’s Graceland, it’s because I know it’ll put me in a good mood. If I play The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths, it’s because I want to embrace feeling sad. We wanted to present ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ as a self-help tape for anyone playing it.” In episode #151 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets British singer, songwriter and musician Andrew Roachford. Andrew will be touring the UK in December, titled A Soul Christmas Evening with Roachford, including a […] Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues (CALL: 0800 030 6789)

In 2022, following an eight-year live hiatus, Hard-Fi advised that they would play a handful of dates, including a gig at the Kentish Town Forum in London. Whether it was the length of time since […] It’s a star-studded affair with collaborations with Boy George, Shaun Ryder and Frank Turner, whom they have been supporting on tour.