Your album is out on Monday – are you proud of it?
Significantly – it was about three years in the making and largely cathartic for me as a process due to some of the subject matter of some of the songs, so I’m proud of it in a lot of ways.
What’s your favourite track on the album and why?
I think it’s probably Beautiful & Useless as it seems to fit together very nicely and was a late comer to the album. However, I’ve got emotional attachments to I Didn’t Want to Show You That I’d Lost Faith and Lament in a big way. Lament is very much my mid-20s crisis anthem. These things do exist – trust me, I’m sure it’s not just me who had one.
How would you describe your music for people who don’t know you?
Rather earnest and sweeping post-punk with soft/rounded keyboard sounds? No idea. That was just lots of words put next to each other to be honest, sorry.
Which song do you wish you had written?
Most days I wish I was the girl from Bat for Lashes, having written the mystical songs and looking really good and mystical all the time. As strange as that may be she is awesome so it’s all okay.
Who’s your ultimate icon and how have they influenced you?
The most iconic band for me personally are Blur… Their album 13 influenced a lot of the sounds on our album.
What made you get into music?
It was so long ago I can’t remember… Probably boredom and social inadequacy. I was bored of social inadequacy. I remember listening when very young in the family holiday car journeys to a tape called “Beatles’ Ballads” which was a compilation of ballads by the Beatles (Yesterday, Blackbird etc) and it was monumental in awesomeness, so probably that!
What’s your favourite song to play live?
Beautiful & Useless, as it’s got a dual vocal and we have an extended ending which is nice – it’s a very loose and fun song.
What do you hope to do before the end of the year?
Before the end of the year? Not long! I would like to record another live video with an ensemble, and I think we’ll be doing that in December.
You’ve had an amazing year – what’s been your highlight?
The album is not out yet, so we’ve not toured that which will be fun…however I guess the Kaiser Chiefs tour was the highlight. We had such a good response. The album was finished in January too so that should count.
What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to the band – it could be on tour, in the studio, anything!
We played a sex club in Berlin once, which was strange. There were lots of copulating sculptures, a sleazy looking swimming pool, condoms everywhere and bizarrely a table football table. It wasn’t sexy night when we played though – apparently it was the only night in the week when that doesn’t happen. Terrible luck?
Describe yourself in three words?
Self-deprecating and earnest.