Tunng Emerge With Poppier Sound After Lineup Changes

The last few years have been rather transitional for UK "folktronica" act Tunng. After the success and rampant touring behind 2007's 'Good Arrows,' the group lost founding member, guitarist and vocalist Sam Genders. Vocalist Ashley Bates moved from London to Somerset and guitarist Mike Lindsay embarked on trips to India and the Far East to clear his head.

"I needed to get out and go to an inspirational place," Lindsay tells Spinner. "It was a gorgeous little adventure with complete strangers. We'd been playing a lot and sometimes if you have a window of opportunity to get out and do something and no one's going to miss you, you should just do it."

For their fourth album, '...And Then We Saw Land,' Tunng spent about twice as long as they did on 'Good Arrows,' since they had to work out how to fill out the writing and vocal duties with Genders gone. In the past, they've been known for incorporating a bevy of different weirdo instruments into their sessions such as seashells, but Lindsay says they got experimented in a different way this time.

"The things that are pretty wacky for us are quite normal for most," he says. "We'd never used live drums, we'd never used electric guitars. It's probably more accessible in a way, but for us, that's more experimental in a way. We got some great synths in the studio and used those. It's a more stripped-back, electronic record."

Case and point is lead single 'Hustle,' a banjo-driven acoustic tune that has Lindsay and vocalist Becky Jacobs dueting throughout the crux of the song. "I had the guitar riff for ages. It was like a Paul Simon thing, ultra-happy," he says. "The lyrics though are quite sad. It's probably the most accessible tune we've done, but it still sounds like Tunng as well."

'...And Then We Saw Land' is out April 6 on Thrill Jockey.