The Drums to start second album after UK tour dates

The Drums are set to begin work on their second album at the end of their forthcoming UK and Ireland dates.

The band kick off two weeks of dates on November 24, after which they will pause to work on the follow-up to 'The Drums'.

"At the end of this tour, we’re taking a couple of months off," frontman Jonathan Pierce told NME, "but it’s not to relax, it’s to make our next album."

Despite releasing their debut earlier this year, and recently seeing guitarist Adam Kessler quit the group, Pierce is in no mood to hang around.

"This may not last forever – we might have three albums, maybe four. Who knows?" he mused. "We might have a hundred. It’s good to do it all now. I feel like we all share this nervous energy and a fire in our belly."

As they have been busy with live dates all year, The Drums admitted they did not get the chance to write much while touring.

"The road isn’t ideal for us to actually record on because we’re so busy and we don’t want that to affect the songs we’re writing," said Pierce. "We’ve been writing down ideas and we kind of feel like the last two or three months have been one big creative band meeting."

Meanwhile, guitarist Jacob Graham explained that The Drums have handpicked the bands who will be joining them on the forthcoming dates: New Yorkers Violens and Kent-based band Two Wounded Birds, who are signed to Graham’s label, Holiday Records.

"It’ll be a mini-festival curated by The Drums!” declared the guitarist of the bill.

The Drums will play:

London HMV Forum (November 24, 25)
Bristol Anson Rooms (26)
Birmingham HMV Institute (27)
Glasgow O2 ABC (29)
Belfast Mandela Hall (30)
Dublin Academy (December 1)
Northumbria University Stage 2 (3)
Leeds Metropolitan University (4)
Nottingham Rock City (5)
Manchester Academy 2 (6)

The Drums announce new live line-up

The Drums have announced details of their new live line-up.

The group have expanded to a five-piece for their 2011 live shows, with drummer Connor Hanwick changing to become the band's guitarist and new sticksman Chris Stein joining the set-up.

They have also named Violens man Myles Matheny as their new guitarist. He is still a member of Violens and replaces Adam Kessler, who quit the band in September last year. Original member Jacob Graham is now concentrating on synthesizers.

Speaking in NME's new free 16-page guide to this summer's festivals, which comes with the new issue of the magazine, on UK newsstands now or available digitally, singer Jonathan Pierce said: "The spirit of the band is the same, but the line-up has changed."

He added: "There are no more backing tracks. It's such a pain to bring them on the road and the show is better now than ever."

The Drums release new album teaser – video

Brooklyn band The Drums have posted a video on their official website The Drums.com showing grainy footage of them in sessions for the follow-up to their 2010 self-titled debut.

The clip, which you can watch below, also shows religious imagery, flames and a constant flashing up of the word 'Portamento', which could be a hint to the title for the next record.

The word is a musical term which comes from the Italian expression "portamento della voce" (carriage of the voice).

It was known as a vocal slide between pitches in the 17th century but has become more commonly known as a gradual slide from one note to another.

The forthcoming record will be the band's first without guitarist Adam Kessler, who quit the band last September, and an announcement regarding its release is thought to be happening soon.

The Drums recently recruited two new members – drummer Chris Stein and Violens man Myles Matheny – for their live set-up.

The Drums: 'We almost split up two weeks ago'

The Drums have admitted that they almost split up during the making of their second album.

Speaking to French music news website Dirrtymusic.com, singer Jonathan Pierce also said the band have named their second album 'Portamento' and that it marks a major step forward for the New Yorkers.

He said of the recording of the new album: "We have faced trials. The guitarist [Adam Kessler] left, there were a lot of shouting matches. Two weeks ago, we came very close to splitting. But that has nourished the album, I think."

Pierce added that the band have named the album 'Portamento', which is a musical term for moving from one note to another, as they feel that this sums up their musical journey.

He added: "Now we have an audience, we are taking into consideration the fact that we will be heard. That wasn't the case at the time of the first record. I can't see myself writing another song about the ocean or the beach. That's why we've called the new album 'Portamento' - it signifies going from one point to another."

Pierce also said that he believed the band's self titled debut was "naïve", but that he wouldn't change anything about it. He said: "The first record was quite naïve, this one absolutely isn't. We couldn't make another record in the same way, but in the end, I regret nothing."

"I wouldn't change anything, nothing at all. Certainly, there have been a lot of doubts, but this album would have been very different. We have had to grow, and very quickly."

The Drums to release new album 'Portamento' on September 12



The Drums have announced that they will be releasing their second album 'Portamento' on September 12.

The New York band, who are now made up of singer Jonathan Pierce, keyboardist Jacob Graham and drummer Conor Hanwick, plus two live members, will precede the album with a single 'Money', which is released on September 5.

The tracklisting for 'Portamento' - the artwork of which is pictured above - is as follows:

'Book Of Revelation'
'Days'
'What You Were'
'Money'
'Hard To Love'
'I Don’t Know How To Love'
'Searching For Heaven'
'Please Don’t Leave'
'If He Likes It Let Him Do It'
'I Need A Doctor'
'In The Cold'
'How It Ended'

The band have also confirmed three small London shows to support the new album. They will play in the capital's Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on September 5, at the Lexington on September 6 and finally at XOYO on September 7.

They are also booked to perform at Bestival on the Isle Of Wight, which runs 8-11 September.

The Drums to go electronic on next album?



The Drums have said that they are thinking about going electronic for their next album.

The band, who are set to release their second album 'Portamento' on September 5 in the UK (September 13 in the US), told us that they were thinking about ditching their guitars for its follow-up.

Frontman Jonathan Pierce said: "We might be going back to completely electronic music. But I don't want to make a big degree because we might end up breaking my own rules and end up looking like a fool. I wouldn't mind starting an Italo disco album or a cold wave one."

He said that he recently purchased a vintage Korg PS-3100 synth which had changed his life. "I feel like it's making me fall in love with analogue circuitry all over again," he added.

Pierce said that 'Portamento' was a more honest album than their debut.

Speaking of the lyrics on the new album he said: "One thing is that we decided to be completely honest about our reality. It almost seemed exciting to be that honest. I felt like I would be cheating the album if I wasn't honest about things we did in the past.

"I wouldn't say that [the first album] was dishonest but what I'd say is that we had our defences up, at least from a lyrical viewpoint. We weren't ready to say the things we say on the new album."

Watch the video for The Drums' comeback single 'Money' below.

The Drums launch web video series ‘Visiomento’

The Drums are trailing the release of their second album ‘Portamento’, with an online video series called Visiomento.

Episode 001 is now available to watch online, and sees the band performing brand new song ‘What You Were’. Scroll down to take a look.

Further episodes will be released every Tuesday until the end of the year and will include interviews, lives performances and special guest appearances.

‘Portamento’ is released September 5 in the UK (September 13 in the US). The band play a sold out show at London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on the same day, with further shows at London Lexington (September 6) and London XOYO (7), before their weekend appearance at Bestival on the Isle of Wight (10). The Drums play a full tour of the UK this November and December.

The Drums will play:

Birmingham HMV Institute (November 28)
Newcastle O2 Academy (29)
Leeds Metropolitan University (30)
Glasgow O2 ABC (December 3)
HMV Edinburgh Picturehouse (4)
Cambridge Junction (5)
Portsmouth Pyramids Centre (6)
Bristol O2 Academy (8)
London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (9)
Manchester HMV Ritz (10)

Watch The Drums' track by track guide to new album 'Portamento' - video

Video: The Drums 'Portamento' Track By Track - Part 1

The Drums have recorded a track-by-track guide to their second studio album 'Portamento', which you can now watch above.

Speaking to NME at Bestival over the weekend, Jonathan Pierce, Jacob Graham and Connor Hanwick talked through all 12 tracks on the follow up to their 2010 self-titled debut album.

Discussing their single 'Money', Pierce shared that many people ask if the song is a reflection on the band's wealth. "It's much less literal than that," he said. "It's just about being a fuck-up and not really learning from mistakes, but wanting to have a good heart, wanting to do better, and just kind of letting your whole life never getting to that point.”

He added: “Nothing rubs me the wrong way more than people who seem to have it all together.”

'Portamento' is out now on Moshi Moshi/Island. Watch part two of The Drums' video interview here.