Singer Jonathan Pierce talks to Spoonfed about what promises to be a big 2010 for the much-hyped band
Some bands seem to be on a pre-destined route to success. It doesn’t happen that often, but occasionally a group appears just at the right place and time, with just the right look, just the right sound, and opportunity abounds. That band could well be The Drums in 2010. When the US quartet’s first single, the joyous double A-side ‘Let’s Go Surfing’/ ‘Don’t be a Jerk, Johnny’, surfaced back in September, the sun-kissed vibe provided a warm breeze to shore up the last throes of London’s summer. Whilst the critics took note, the band might have seemed like an afterthought; a sweet throwaway to bookend the season. However, fast-forward to 2010 and things are once again hotting up – as the ice thaws and the sun starts to threaten the grey, so too The Drums are streaming back into consciousness.
I caught up with singer Jonathan Pierce to discuss his take on the band’s progress, starting with their current opening billing on that bastion of indie hype, the NME Shockwaves tour. “It’s been really cool”, says Pierce. “We wrote our first song a year and a month ago, so pretty much everything we do is new to us in a way. To be playing across Europe and playing front of these kids every night is really exciting for us and kind of surreal in a way.”
With well known indie hotshots such as the Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club also on the bill, I asked what Pierce thought of his contemporaries? He seemed more enthused with the company than the music, explaining “I’ve heard bits and pieces of the bands… but everyone seems really nice and everyone seems to be getting along really well.”
Whilst relations between the bands remain good, Pierce debunks the myth of rock star excess on the road. Describing this as a “romantic notion”, he states “I think there are a lot of misconceptions with bands being on the road about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. It happens here and there but I don’t see any of these bands really going for it. People are here to work”.
Indeed, working hard seems to be an important mantra for the band, who took on the not inconsequential task of producing their debut E.P. ‘Summertime!’ and forthcoming full-lengther themselves. Pierce suggests the choice was a mixture of practicality – “we were piss poor” – and a desire to give the record a “homespun” feel. “There’s an incompleteness about it…we’ve never produced something ourselves and just decided to do it that way”, he explains, adding “there’s nothing attractive about something that’s perfect”.
Pierce also thinks fans might see a different side to The Drums when the new record comes out: “We originally recorded a big batch of songs and we picked the ones that sounded the most summery and decided to be blatant and call our E.P. ‘Summertime!'. Naturally what was left over was more brooding, more serious toned songs, so that’s what you’ll find on the full lengther – the darker side of The Drums.”
This shift may in part be an attempt to distance the band from the burgeoning surf-rock revival, currently being rib-ticklingly dubbed ‘nu wave’. Pierce smarts at the mention of the subject. “I think that surf-rock thing is kind of a really lazy comparison”, he says. “People always mention the Beach Boys and I don’t actually like the Beach Boys!”
But surely the band have brought this on themselves with song names like ‘Let’s Go Surfing’?? Pierce clarifies the situation: “We’ve had two singles out and the first one’s called ‘Let’s Go Surfing’, so I think it’d be kind of ludicrous for me to get upset with people asking if we’re a surf band. But I think, in a year, if people keep asking that, it’s gonna bother me – we have a batch of about 30 recorded songs and only one mentions the word surfing.”
Instead of aligning themselves with a scene, The Drums appear focused on crafting memorable pop songs, even though Pierce admits the band’s affinity with the 1950s: “There was a simplicity in the '50s with both the lyrics and melodies – they’re almost elementary but there’s something so powerful about them. That’s what we try to do with The Drums – try and simplify everything.”
Crystallising the group’s take on modern music, he adds “We’re surrounded by experimentation and people being edgy and hip and overly clever. We really want to just cut away the fat and get to the bare bones of what a pop song is.”
So, no more songs about surfing then? “Probably not. Maybe if we get a wave of inspiration, pardon the pun, we might do it. It all comes down to doing what we feel like doing, when we feel like doing it.”
Long may it continue.
Thanks to Tasha at Anorak
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