DL- You released your latest single ‘Not Enough Love’ back in September. What was the inspiration behind it?
JN- I think we grew up in a very small town that we were really itching to get out of. When we finally moved to into the city, into Manchester it was kind of like breaking off the chains and it felt good to be around new people with new stories. So it was just about that really and then us kind of moving to Manchester then going home for the weekend it always felt a bit like it would be nice at first but we were itching to get back. So yeah it’s about getting out of our small town bubble and going on tour I guess
DL- How does it feel to be signed to a local label too: Scruff of the Neck?
JN- Well, scruff just manage us so we’re signed to Good Soldier Records. But yeah working with scruff on a management level is really good. They live just round the corner from us.
HB- It’s great as well because they’re really rooted in the whole Manchester music scene. Which is great for us to be such a big part of it so its really great working with them. Especially at the moment.
EL- We’ve seen that you’re in the studio on your Instagram a lot at the start of the month when you’d just come back from Amsterdam. Can we expect things coming soon?
JN- I think we’ll get an EP out before Christmas. That’s the plan anyway a small EP, its something we’ve not really done before and although we’re working on the debut album we’re not quite there with it yet. We’re very aware that we’ve gotta get it right, there’s only one shot at this but we’ve got music that we really want to get out.
EL- So talking about your debut album. How do you feel about it?
JN- I don’t know. Its weird because you get stretches when you’re in the studio and you’re so in the album zone that you feel great about it. Then you come away from it for a bit and you over-analyse.
HB- I think as well it’s like you said before, there’s a lot of bands we know that have released debut albums and we’ve listened to them. You can’t help but think “we don’t want to do that” or “we don’t want to do this” and you get so into it working on your own. Its like you said you only get one shot at a first album.
JN- The thing is as well I’ve not quite finished writing it yet and we’ve just released Animals in Costume which is this new clothing brand that we’re really proud of. So we’ve started doing that and I feel like we’ve got this vibe at the moment that’s really young and fruitful but also got a slight political message.
EL- So you mentioned Animals in costume. Why do you think it was so important for you to break the mould with your merch?
JN- I remember Henry introduced me to what Tyler was doing and that was cool but we’re really into fashion and really into designing. There’s some little label called Stella who I sat down with and did the designs it was cool to just get behind something. The thing is when you go to a gig and you go to a merch stand and it can feel really crap. The band don’t care about it as long as you spend as you spend £15 and its got a logo on that you don’t really like. So it was time for a change.
HB- I think from the beginning we were just sick of band merch looking like band merch because all of us individually are into fashion so much and the last thing that we want is to be putting stuff out that you’re only gonna wear to the gig.
DL- You’ve been on tour for a little while now. What are the best and worst bits of being on tour?
JN- You get really good at playing. By a week in you’ve played every night and everything comes really naturally to you. So you’re definitely the best you’ve been when you’re on tour. I’d say the worst bit is trying to get through the tour. Whether that’s looking after your voice or looking after your mental health. I think you really have to manage it.
HB- One of the best bits for us is that when we first started as a band we were all about the live shows. Even though we’re really into our production and recording things we think of ourselves as a live band. Its good to go back to that.
JN- This is the first tour as well where people have actually come to watch us play. The first tour we went on we were struggling to get twenty people in a room and now we’re struggling for guest list spots.
DL- Also one of your latest releases was a live album. Is that because you feel as though you’re at your best when you’re performing live?
JN- I think we were just looking at what was happening in music. Whether that was the Soundcloud revolution or hip-hop especially were just dropping mixtapes really fast. I think its cool to have that out. We were speaking to a lot of people about Radiohead and like their favourite Radiohead tracks. So people have heard like three versions of the same song and you can argue which is your favourite version. So it was a huge gig and we were given the opportunity to record it and Dom always says this, it really put a flagpole in time for us.
HB- Especially being that show because for all of us that show was a milestone for us as a band and as individuals. That venue is all of our favourite venues. It was a way of really cementing that moment for us as the big deal that it was.
EL- So you’ve ticked the Albert Hall off your list. Where’s next?
JN- I think our eyes are on the MEN really. We’ve got to get to the arena at some point. We’ve all seen the biggest bands there so I think that would be a really big thing. London’s now getting to the point where we can do the bigger shows. We’d love to get to Glastonbury obviously.
