17/6/26 - Building the Lucid Liars Live Show | New Visuals Debut at Hidden Dundee

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means.

Today I finished up the last of the edits for some visual elements that we’ll be debuting at Hidden in Dundee this Saturday, the 20th.

As with many things when it comes to creativity, I excitedly offered to take the lead on this and then very quickly realised how much work it was going to be. That's no bad thing though, because I love getting to flex my creativity in disciplines beyond just the music. I edit 99% of the video content you'll see from Lucid Liars on Facebook and Instagram, and creating a unique visual identity for an independent Scottish indie rock band has been a really rewarding process.

As we've continued to grow our live show, we've been looking at ways to make the experience more immersive and memorable for audiences. Whether we're playing in Inverness, Dundee, Glasgow or further afield, we want a Lucid Liars gig to feel like more than just four guys standing on a stage. Building visuals that complement our music and help tell the story of the songs has become an important part of that journey.

I can't properly express the feeling the first time we set everything up and killed the lights at IMOUT Studios. Aside from the immediate panic of not being able to see my fretboard, I was genuinely in awe of how cool this new thing we'd created had turned out. It was one of those moments where you stop, take it all in, and feel proud of what you've built. More importantly, it made me excited to finally share it with everyone who comes along to our live shows.

I think this is an important theme within Lucid Liars and something that sits at the heart of everything we do. Every song, every video, every design choice and every aspect of our live performance is created by the band, exactly as we want it, with very little outside help.

That means when things go well, we get to take all the credit and enjoy the moment. The flip side is that when things don't go to plan, we're not tempted to blame other people or spend our time being jealous of those around us. Instead, we look at ourselves and ask a simple question:

"What can we do better?"

That's what keeps us moving forward as a band. Not chasing perfection, but continuously improving while appreciating all the small victories along the way.

Looking ahead to Saturday's show at Hidden Dundee, we're excited to finally unveil these new visual elements alongside songs from Hard Times and some of our newer material. We've put a lot of work into making this next chapter of Lucid Liars feel bigger, bolder and more immersive, and we can't wait to see how people react.

– Jackto

Tunes of the day:

Elephant – Tame Impala

If you haven't heard this song before, the best way I can describe it is as the love child between Black Sabbath and The Beatles. Huge fuzzy guitars, thunderous drums, melodic bass lines and synth leads all wrapped up in a beautifully simple swagger. This has been sitting firmly in my "On Repeat" playlist for a while now and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.

Itchycoo Park – Small Faces

For me, this might be the perfect pop song. A beautifully crafted opening section that introduces every part with absolute precision. The same could be said for the rest of the track. The structure is unusual but never indulgent, and every second feels essential. A perfect three-minute bop.

Knights of Cydonia – Muse

This really needs no introduction. The closing track from my favourite Muse album, Black Holes and Revelations, which has been permanently installed in my car stereo for quite some time now. No matter how many times I hear it, I never get bored. It's genuinely epic and would feel just as at home in a film score as it does on a rock album.

If you've somehow never listened to Black Holes and Revelations, stop what you're doing and fix that immediately.