L'objectif

The band was formed by Saul Kane and Louis Bullock in 2017, when the pair were twelve years old.[2][3] The pair met through performing in plays that their school were putting on.[4] They began rehearsing as a duo,[5] in their school's music classrooms. However, they were unable to perform live during the band's early existent due to their young age not allowing them to enter venues.[4] Their name is taken from the French phrase which translates to "the objective", and was decided during a French lesson the pair had together, when the teacher listed the class's objectives for that lesson.[6] At the beginning of 2020, Ezra Glennon and Dan Richardson became official members of the band, after a period of inconsistently performing live and rehearsing with Kane and Bullock.[7][8] When the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns began, Kane and Bullock began recording and sending each other demos of songs.[8]

In early 2021, they signed to the English independent label Chess Club Records and Mirror Music Group, releasing their debut single on the label on 16 March,[9][2] a song written during the English COVID-19 lockdown.[7] At the same time, the band announced that they would be playing a socially distanced headline concert in Leeds on 27 May.[10] On 25 May, they released their second single "Burn Me Out",[11] and announced that their debut EP Have It Your Way would be released on 20 July.[12] On 22 June, they released their third single "Do It Again".[13] The EP's release was coincided with a livestreamed performance at the Brudenell Social Club.[14] On 3 October, they performed at SoundCity festival.[15] On 16 October, they will play Live at Leeds festival.[16] On 8 February 2022, they released the single "Same Thing" and announced that it would be a part of their second EP.[17] On 10 March, the band released the single "Get Close", and announced their second EP would be titled We Aren't Getting Out But Tonight We Might and is set for released on 3 June.[18] On 20 September 2023, they released the single "Itsa" and announced they would be doing an intimate headline show at Oporto in Leeds on 22 September, followed by a higher capacity show at Beaverworks on 3 October.[19] During their cover feature interview with Dork about the single, Kane teased that the song would be a part of larger, unannounced upcoming release.[20]

The band's music has been categorised as post-punk,[21][22] indie rock,[14][23] alternative rock[24] and indie pop,[10] often making use of elements of funk, jazz, punk rock,[25] dream pop, gothic punk,[26] shoegazing,[27] psychedelia and pop music.[11] Far Out Magazine called them "gloom punks",[27] while Yahoo! News called them "grunge pop",[28] and the Guardian called them "noir pop".[14] Dork magazine writer Finlay Holden described them as a playing a part in the wave of British post-punk gaining popularity in the early-2020s, alongside Black Country, New Road and Dry Cleaning.[29] Their music makes use of angular guitar parts,[30] chaotic rhythms and both gothic and danceable parts.[24] Evening Standard described Kane's vocals as "bring to mind the half-drunk-sounding growls of Iceage’s Elias Rønnenfelt".[22]

NME Radio described their single "Drive in Mind" as "more than just 'some music' from a bunch of teens – the blend of angular drum lines, crunchy Foals-style melodies and ferocious riffs is an exciting and promising look at what’s in store for L’Objectif in the near future",[21] and Far Out magazine described it as "a pounding, exhilarating effort that confirms you’re in for a rough ride as, from the first aggressive chord, it grabs you by the collar and punches you square on the nose."[31] Clash magazine described their music as "match[ing] jazz to funk to psychedelia within a guitar pop template".[11] The Sunday Times described their sound as including "a haze of high adrenaline post-punk, New Order–recalling propulsions, with Soul Kane's Morrissey/Jarvis-like vocals and lyrics".[32] Dork magazine described one "defining characteristic" of their sound as "a distinct tone of... well, not pure pessimism, but not exactly optimism either".[4]

In an interview with DIY magazine, Kane cited Morrissey, the Stone Roses and the Arctic Monkeys as the band's earliest influences,[33] and in an interview with Fred Perry clothing, he cited the Arctic Monkeys' song "American Sports" as a song that lyrically inspired him.[34]

• Saul Kane – vocals, guitar (2017–present)
• Louis Bullock – drums (2017–present)
• Dan Richardson – guitar (2020–present)
• Ezra Glennon – bass (2020–present)

EPs

• Have It Your Way (2021)
• We Aren't Getting Out But Tonight We Might (2022)

Singles

• "Another Day, Another Fear" (2020)
• "Annual Event" (2020)
• "Drive in Mind" (2021)
• "Burn Me Out" (2021)
• "Do It Again" (2021)
• "Same Thing" (2022)
• "Get Close" (2022)
• "The Dance You Sell" (2022)
• "Itsa" (2023)