"We Are Now Landing On Planet Wrong..."

The Music are the worst band in the history of ugly people striking bits of wood and wire. There's no need to enter into a debate about it, they just are. There is no one weaker, more pitiful, more unwanted, more grimly determined to reveal the very emptiness of their mortal souls than The Music. And yet, they keep coming back. A chap I know once reduced the lead singer to tears - during an interview, mind - by enquiring why on earth he carried on when his band were so demonstrably, ball-achingly poor. And answer came there none...

Anyway, they've got a new record to promote. Don't they realise that the world is full to the brim with bloody records already? Honestly, guys, we don't need anymore! Not unless it's really, really amazing, the sort of record that will blow our tiny minds to pieces and make us realise that we've been wasting our lives up until this point. And that's not going to happen with these honking, goose-faced also-rans, is it? No, no it isn't.

I am indebted to a reader from west London who sent this, their new biog in. He titled his email, "A masterclass in wrong" and he wasn't joking. His favourite quote is the following:

"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."

There are others. Mine is this quote from the very first line, "It’s about brining people together" - brining people together? What, like in a salt water way? What are you on about? Anyway, later singer Rob says: "A lot of the album is about personal, mental battles. Not giving in to the negative thoughts.”

Mate, sometimes negative thoughts are trying to tell you something important. Like your band is rubbish and no one cares anymore. Give in to them, please give into them.

“There’s a thirst there,” declares The Music’s Rob Harvey as he looks to sum-up the spirit fuelling his band’s new album ‘Strength In Numbers’ due for release on DELETED. “There’s a hunger there again. It’s about brining people together and making them feel good.” Defiant, optimistic and united, The Music’s third record finds them buoyant, and brimming with vigour. However as the band’s frontman sketches out, it’s not the usual bluster from a band with a new record - this is a hard won confidence.

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.

“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 BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING.

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 BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING across the globe.

Here was a band who had everything, a real band who people believed in, a band with an enigmatic cool (HAHAHAHA!), 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 wouldBORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING.

“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.”

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 BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING .

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 brining people together - STILL WITH THE BRINING! - 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 BORING BORING BORING!”