The Music

Despite only just reaching their mid-20s, Robert Harvey (vocals) Adam Nutter (guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums) have fought hard to get this far. They are a band that have been to the brink, but pulled it back before everything crumbled into dust.

It’s nearly four years since the release of their last album, Welcome To The North but The Music are now more inspired, determined and powerful than ever, but they earned this state of mind by escaping from the depths, investing their souls into the creation of Strength In Numbers.

“The album was definitely born out of darkness. It’s got an underlying element of urgency. It’s pulsating,” says the singer of the new record.  “It’s been a long time and we’ve been through a lot in that period which made us realise we had to do something special. Every song has to be worth something.”

While Strength In Numbers finds them bullish, The Music admit they lost traction around the release of their last album and it was an unfortunate slip for a band who stood out from the crowd with the fusion of beats, grooves and a rock n roll heart on their self-titled debut.

In 2001 they emerged almost out of nowhere; a bunch of lads who had all grown up within 3 miles of each other to the east of Leeds, a tight knit gang of mates, some of whom had known each other all their lives. Just out of school they signed to Hut Records and with a tremendous amount of self-belief and passion were quickly heralded as one of the most exciting new musical forces of 2002.

Their early live shows garnered a glut of positive reviews celebrating the bands ambition and by the time of their debut album they had been established firmly as one of Britain's hottest talents, but thanks to the incendiary experience of their live shows, it established The Music as a band that changed both hearts and minds, selling over a million copies with the group still in their teens. Other bands took note; the likes of U2, Coldplay, Oasis and New Order all invited the band along as support at various stadium shows across the globe.

Here was a band who had everything, a real band who people believed in, a band with an enigmatic cool (taking cues from the likes of Peter Savile or The Stone Roses their sleeves, designed by renowned artist Nick Carter followed a theme), a band who would go on to headline the likes of Brixton Academy and The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, stages at Reading and Leeds festivals, a band who would make sense globally as their headlining slots at the Fuji Festival in Japan and Big Day out in Australia prove.

It's successor, Welcome To The North, followed quickly, perhaps too quickly, as with head-frying American tours the young band now admit they found it hard to take it all in, after all, here was a band, still all not yet 20 who had crammed a whole career into a couple of post-school years; what they had done and achieved since forming many bands would struggle to achieve in their life-times.

“One of the main problems is that you grow a lot mentally between the ages of 18 and 24, even if you’re in an office job. That’s a strain, but for us we did it touring,” explains Rob of the bad places The Music found themselves.

A band driven by passion and belief from their inception, the situation was not helped by a quick realisation that the band were unhappy with the second record they created. “The American thing was the most difficult.,” admits Rob. “To be able to mean something to that many people is obviously enticing. You think of U2 and Coldplay, bands that have made that step, and it’s a dream to a lot of groups so we went for it, but at the time we didn’t know that the songs weren’t good enough or how tired we were.”

However while some acts might have just kept quiet, tried to and tried to get to the end hoping their audience wouldn’t complain, The Music’s commitment and need to create something they believed in began to tear them apart.

“I’d lost touch with who I was,” admits Rob frankly. “With all the paranoia the negatives had overtaken my mind, and I needed a rest to remember who I was again. One of the main reasons I think we were misunderstood a lot is that we didn’t really know what we were. We had to change things.”

After a period of flux, during which they left their old label Virgin, The Music found themselves pushing forward both as individuals as a band and again. Gone were aimless jams and playing songs they weren’t happy with because they didn’t have anything better, and in its place the fire that fuelled and inspired their debut reignited. That, and a new deal with Polydor, brought focus as Rob and guitarist Adam Nutter reconvened for a series of sessions at home, that resulted in the leaner, disciplined and fundamentally better songs they could feel proud to call an album.

“We did a couple of gigs in 2007 and after one gig in Sheffield we just said either we make this good, or we split the band for ways and we all go and get fucking jobs!” declares Rob.  “None of us wanted to that, so we all sat down and decided we were going to work at it. It meant too much to us.”

The results of that ultimatum are Strength In Numbers. The title is both an expression of the unity now bonding the band, but it is also an antidote to the fractured, isolated world that often passes for society at present. It is rallying call to the individual, but one that says get involved, engage and connect with the world around you.

“It’s about standing strong, being comfortable with your self and realising there is a future, there is something to look forward to," declares Rob. "A lot of the album is about personal, mental battles. Not giving in to the negative thoughts.”

Produced by ex Orbital man Phil Hartnoll and Killers and U2 collaborator Flood, highlights include The Spike which oscillates between some of the band's most tender moments on record to a full-on sky blasting anthemics, Drugs, a heady mix of dancefloor friendly beats and a social conscience,  while No Weapon Sharper Than Will is a full-blooded, driving statement of intent from a band will not go quietly. As a whole Strength In Numbers finds The Music reborn, refocused and ready to reconnect with the masses.

So after the wrong moves, false starts and genuinely scratching the bottom before soaring confidently again, The Music are hopeful they’ve not just created an record to listen to, Strength In Numbers is an album to live with.

“It’s about bringing people together and making them feel good,” declares Rob again. “We know we can’t save the world but we can do our little bit to make people feel part of it and bring them out of the unconscious. I want people to feel like I do when I’m singing these songs – I want them to feel in the moment not disconnected. We want people to be able to express themselves. Yeah, the swagger is back!”