Herbie May

Terrifying… but necessary.

Herbie May has released two singles with Red Licorice. He stepped out of his band The Lounge Society to release his double A side solo debut Bleeding/Shoelaces in November 2025 and follows this with another double A side Uphill/Apple on May 29 2026. May’s solo sound is stripped down and emotionally intelligent - think Courtney Barnett or Kurt Vile - but also reminiscent of older artists: ‘It’s Lou Reed meets Orange Juice!’ whispered someone, and they’re maybe not wrong. You can also hear influences as varied as The The, and PJ Harvey in the mix although this music is also completely its own thing. 

Herbie, like so many of his generation, admits to feeling bewildered on a daily basis. In an effort to find something stable, something reliable and honest, he has turned to matching playful lyricism with captivating melodies.

'I spent 18 months not drinking, not taking any substances, not going out very much. Just reading and thinking and trying to make sense of the way we’re forced to exist now. These songs are the first results of that process. And then I got this chance to put them out and to play them live. And it was a terrifying idea but also absolutely necessary.'

Since making a solo live debut touring with punk legends XGENERATIONX, Herbie has supported The Primitives, The Subways and Chris Helme as well as selected headline shows, and his next gig sees him supporting Big Truck at Hebden Bridge Trades Club.

The latest songs are infectious, exuberant and buoyant slices of choppy, edgy indie-pop that nod to Bowie and Dylan as much as they do to any contemporary artist. As the man himself puts it: '

These songs are my call to leave it all behind. To forget ourselves; the myths of our identities. These veneers of we’ve constructed don’t seem to serve us any more. We all feel stuck. So why don’t we just drop it, find new selves, in new places. Who’s with me?' 

The Lounge Society came to prominence during the pandemic with the single Generation Game which was followed by EP Silk for the Starving and the album Tired of Liberty all produced by the Dan Carey (Fontaines DC and Wet Leg among many others) and released on Carey’s label Speedy Wunderground. Lauren Laverne described their first single as ‘one of the songs of the year’, while the album was on many end of the year best of lists with Loud and Quiet being typical in describing it as ‘exhilarating…something undeniably game-changingly special.’ They recently put out a limited edition vinyl only single Anything with Golden Lion Sounds.  

Press for Herbie May: 

Live review from February 25 2026  Soul Searching: Herbie May at The Trades Club – Live Review – Dirty Sunbeams

Candid interview in the Yorkshire Post PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions 

Interview with Still Listening magazine issue 13 Start Listening To: Herbie May — Still Listening

Revealing Interview with Dirty Sunbeams: https://dirtysunbeams.com/2026/04/13/weve-been-cool-now-its-time-to-be-honest-herbie-may-on-his-solo-work-live-music-and-red-licorice-records/

 Herbie May – Bleeding/Shoelaces – Old Man Blues