The Drums Interview

Written by Chris Hay

Interview
The Drums

“It could easily make us feel pressure, but any pressure that comes along we do our best to ignore. I think we were fortunate to have recorded our album before any of this hype really happened, so we’re just waiting to release it. We’re really happy with it as a band, excited to put it out. A lot of bands get hyped up and then they have to go into the studio and work against that pressure and make something near perfect, whereas for us it was already done.” says Jonathon Pierce, frontman of The Drums, regarding the expectations surrounding his band’s upcoming album. It’s been a rapid rise to success for the New York quartet which has seen them incessantly tipped to be one of this year’s breakthrough acts.“I don’t really know how it happened, we only did our first show last May. We don’t understand it, the only thing I can attribute it to is people listening to our songs rather than their production. In a world where everyone is trying to be the next new ingenious thing, we tried to keep it simple and maybe that’s why we’re standing out so much.”

You can hear the influence of 1980’s British acts prominently in their music and while this is not lost on their singer, it is not something he thinks defines them. “For us it’s not about a location or a genre, it’s about songs. If songs were written on the moon, then you could say we like bands from the moon. I like songs more than I like albums and more than I like artists. It’s really what drives me to make music, so every time we sit down to write we just want to write songs. Simple, strong, honest, pop songs. The Smiths, Orange Juice, Joy Division they had some incredible songs.” The band’s style of music has gained them much support in the UK, with its laid-bare approach and floating guitars allowing fans to reminisce whilst taking on some sounds that are not so commonplace today. One famous fan in particular has left Jonathon very happy. “We’ve been talking to Edwyn Collins. He’s asked us to write on his new album, so we’re gonna meet with him in a couple of weeks. For me he’s the epitome of cool, a great songwriter, and everything about him is incredible.” TheDrums

While he talks down the production quality of The Drums music, Jonathon explains the band’s lively stage performance, saying “I know definitely for me the show starts and then it ends and I don’t remember much in-between. It’s just blurs and smoke. It sounds cheesy and clichéd, but I just let myself fall into the song, forget what’s going on and just try to feel it.” This propensity to forget a show might have come in handy in England recently where they came across a less than friendly crowd, though the headline band are not exactly the cheeriest bunch. “I guess the worst thing to ever happen to us was opening for White Lies. We were very excited, it was our second show ever in London; the first show we played there was really incredible, full of life and people were excited. I don’t know if it was because of the type of people who listen to White Lies, but you could hear crickets between every song, and literally people were scowling at us.”

Fortunately this was a one off and with their live shows gathering glowing reports they should not disappoint this summer when they play T In The Park; they return with a definite affinity for the Scottish crowds. “In Scotland the crowds are incredible, we played at Barrowlands and it was just the best, one of the highlights.” enthused Jonathon, before turning his attention to May and the shows with Florence and the Machine. This will be the biggest tour to date and the start of busy times for The Drums. “Its gonna be great, we’re excited to get the opportunity to go on the road and play in front of a bunch of people. It’s kind of like jumping in the deep end with us being so new, but we’re ready to do it.” A new band they may be, but with their self titled debut album due for release June 7th and the band set to play “a whole bunch of festivals” it’s unlikely many will not have heard their name by the end of the summer.

www.thedrums.co.uk

Photos by and copyright of Daren Borzynski

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