Manchester just gained a new lo-fi duo worth knowing. Succulents, the boy-and-girl pairing of Laurie Hulme and Lucy Ridges, have released their debut single “Underdog,” and it lands with the sparky immediacy of the best cult indie-pop.
The track blends plugged-in college rock riffs with candy floss-sweet harmonies. Krautrock tendencies sit quietly underneath before a motorik middle section cuts loose. It’s a charming two-hander that nods to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Field Mice, Yo La Tengo, The Clean, The Courtneys, The Pastels and Comet Gain, all wrapped in the hazy nostalgia Hulme does so well.
Hulme already has a track record. He fronts the long-running solo project Songs For Walter, releasing two critically acclaimed albums, ‘Songs For Walter’ (2016) and ‘An Endless Summer Daze’ (2018), both praised for heartfelt songwriting and a generous devotion to deeply personal storytelling. He also plays in Manchester four-piece Big Other. Ridges, an established photographer by day, joins on vocals and brings fresh energy to the duo’s sense of joyful togetherness.
“Underdog” came out of a period of retreat. Expecting a child, Hulme left the city for his partner’s parents’ home in the South Lakes, spending three to four hours a day writing and playing guitar. The result captures both intimacy and restlessness, a snapshot of abundant creativity made under unusual circumstances.
Hulme says of the single: “‘Underdog’ centres on a mischievous protagonist deliberately trying to provoke their partner, delighting in pushing buttons and watching the sparks fly. There’s a darkly playful edge to the narrative, not unlike the gleeful antagonism found in The Twits, wrapped in warm, fuzzed-out indie-pop textures.”
He adds: “It started life as an acoustic, finger picking song and then I realised it would be better louder. At the time I was also playing in a kraut-punk band called Chew Magna and I was really into Can and kraut-rock middle eights, so there’s an obvious nod to that time in my life too.”
The first cut from a growing batch of unreleased Succulents songs, “Underdog” was recorded in a South Manchester bedroom before being mixed and refined by Hulme’s brother, Alex Hulme, whose patient studio craft turns the track’s lo-fi core into something richly textured and emotionally resonant. It’s a confident, warm-hearted opening statement, and a strong sign of what this pairing can do.