The Drums Discuss a Dramatic 2010

Rachael Wright

It's been a big year for the Drums. They started 2010 as one of a bunch of hopefuls to emerge from the Anglophile indie scene in Brooklyn, New York. Twelve months later their self-titled debut album features in many albums of 2010 lists. But it hasn't all been good. Spinner caught up with drummer Connor Hanwick following their recent London gig. The departure of guitarist Adam Kessler, who quit the band unannounced on the eve of an American tour in September, still weighs heavily on the band's mind as they start work on album two...

How has 2010 been for you?

Great, but not solely great. Overall I don't have any regrets. We put out an album that I'm very proud of. Even more exciting than that, this last quarter of the year we've been talking about the next record and we've built up a lot of excitement. There's an anxiousness to get that started.

What is your highlight of the year?

The year sort of feels like a blur. I don't think there is one thing. Having the album released was probably the most rewarding part of the year. We sat on those songs for a long time before the record came out. To actually have it out and have people receive it and have an idea of who we are is exciting.

You said that not everything has been good this year. Are you talking about Adam Kessler leaving the band?

Yeah.

What happened?

I can tell you what happened to the best of my knowledge. I'm not really sure what went through his head when he made that decision. I do know that he wasn't really an integral part of the creative process. I can understand him feeling that maybe there were more cons than pros in the life that we were leading at that point. If you don't have any contribution then you don't have any sense of ownership or pride or excitement about what you're doing. It's like what's the point of being ripped out of your life and put into something pretty intense. Maybe he was happier with his life before. I think he didn't really believe in what we were doing any more.

Did he walk out without giving you any warning?

Yeah. We were in New York. We were set up to leave the next day for an American tour. We hung out that day at a friend's house and talked about what was coming up. We were talking about starting writing for the next record. We said bye and everybody gave each other hugs. We went home. That night at 1AM he sent an e-mail saying he wasn't going to do it any more. It was pretty brief, it didn't really explain why exactly. We didn't ask any questions.

Didn't you try and find out what was going through his mind?

No, because if somebody makes a decision like that I don't think that there's any convincing that can take place. And, shaken up as we were, we did sort of feel this weight lift. It felt like now we could really refine and explore the ideas that he had shown opposition to. It's unfortunate that it went the way it did and we completely lost contact with him, but...

Did you fall out beforehand?

No. We had felt some distancing and detachment from him for a while but couldn't put our finger on it. Personally, I didn't think he would actually leave. Just having an opportunity like this to have people interested in what you're doing and being able to go round and play shows every night, it's not a once in a lifetime opportunity it's almost a never in a lifetime opportunity.

Have you started work on the new album?

We've recorded two tracks. It's not going to shock anyone. We're not branching that far out from what we've already done. We're just looking to refine what we've done. Our ideas about making music are pretty firm. We're interested in a pop song structure. We're looking at continuing to work within that structure and just get better at it.

How will it differ from your debut?

The personality of the new album is going to be a pretty strong contrast from the previous record. The first album is very wide-eyed and very romantic. Compared with where we stand now it feels a little greener. I think on that album we were looking at the world more objectively. How we wished things were. Romanticising things. This year, there are a lot of things that we've had to examine and look at about what we were doing and where we were, how we were received. I don't want to sound cheesy, but there's been a lot of introspection. I think the new record is going to be more stark as a result. Less gooey-eyed.

When will it be released?

We're not in a rush to put it out, but also we don't want to sit on an album. I'm sure it will be out in 2011, hopefully by autumn.