Twin Atlantic are back – and they’re out to be the biggest rock band in the world.
The Glasgow outfit, Sam McTrusty, Ross McNae and Craig Kneale have signed a massive deal with Virgin/EMI and today we can reveal their new single, album and tour – and the dramatic new set-up and sound they believe is going to make their new album Power “part of mainstream culture”.
They’ve taken the advice of their friend – and producer of their last album – Jacknife Lee, who told them they can be a stadium band like U2 and The Killers by working in the same way they do.
Frontman Sam told us: “I genuinely think the songs are that good. Book the biggest gig of all time and we will play it.
“I just don’t see there being a ceiling on it and don’t see why you would put one on it.
“We haven’t made a garage rock record. You do that you will play in garages. We have made stadium songs.
“That’s not because I want the adulation that comes with stadiums, it just feels so good playing to a lot of people who are enjoying your music.
“I can hear this music being in movies and stuff. I just think ambition is infectious and the music sounds like it doesn’t have boundaries.
(Image: Handout)
“For the first time we have made music that could add to culture and shape the music bands make after this.
“If I was in another band and heard this record I would be different after it. That is so arrogant but it’s what I think.
“We haven’t walked in here with zero knowledge and done it by mistake, we have worked with a lot of really globally influential people and massive artists who trascend things.
“I would like it to transcend genre so it’s not just our record – I would like it to become part of mainstream culture.”
The band have turned their once-grotty, cluttered Glasgow rehearsal room into a slick studio spread over two rooms and two floors.
Working with Jacknife was a revelation for them – and he told them they should be making music by themselves the way they did with him, because they were good enough to do it by themselves.
They worked without a producer, writing and recording by themselves in their new studio – and threw away the rock rulebook completely to make music in a new way.
Ross said: “We had fallen into doing what was expected of us in a genre we didn’t even believe was the right thing to do.
“We were following the rules of rock because we felt like we had to, because that was how we got to where we were and what gave us the opportunity to tour and be a band.
“Jacknife told us we didn’t have to do that, we could do it our way – we could do whatever we wanted. It was a real awakening.
Sam agreed: “We were advised to set our studio and way of working up like this by Jacknife, this is basically what he has.
“We were coming in, plugging things in and learning how they mechanically worked, because he made us realise we had the ear to do it ourselves and in fact we were doing it already at his place.
“The bands he had worked with like U2 and The Killers are famous for innovating and working this way – and he said we could and should be doing it that way too.
“We had too much pride to say ‘ok, how do we do it?’ so Ross and I watched so many YouTube videos and read so many articles, in our own way went to internet audio university.”
The result is a dazzling record that explodes out of the restrictions of rock, bringing in elements of the electronic music the band – especially Ross – have always loved.
Ross said: “In a sense for us and our definition of rock, Kanye West is a rock band, Justice are a rock band.
“It’s been such a positive, life-changing experience for us that even if no-one likes it we will never be the same again.
“The sound completely came naturally, it was in no way premeditated.
“I’ve been thinking about what to compare it to or how to describe it and I really can’t – I don’t know what there is out there that’s like this album.
“Jacknife makes music for the future and we had been making music according to the rules of the past. We were like the Victorians.”
Craig added: “This album sounds really exciting to us. It is totally different but if it’s exciting to us we think other people will feel that way too.
“If it was exciting doing it, it means it’s good as that’s how it’s been in the past for us.
Sam grinned: “What does it sound like? It sounds like five Grammies.”
There’s yet more change as original member Barry McKenna is no longer involved in the studio set-up, although is still very much part of the live band.
Ross said: “After we did the last album we all realised we were maybe not travelling in the same direction plus he’d been talking about wanting to explore composing.
“He is still an integral part of the band live – he will be on the road with us and a big part of the shows.
“It couldn’t be more amicable. We’re all going to tour an album together and we are all still best friends but he is concentrating on what he wants to do musically and we are doing what we want to.”
The single Novocaine is out today and the album Power follows on January 24.
(Image: Handout)
There is also a tour which sees the band warm up for the mammoth campaign that lies ahead with some lower key shows away from the big cities.
Ross said: “The shows kick off in March and it’s interesting as it’s lots of different venues and towns – just thinking outside the box, do you want to see the band again in the same venue?
“We’re not actually playing Glasgow or Edinburgh on this run, we’re doing Motherwell (March 3), Aberdeen (4), Dundee (5) and Kilmarnock (7).
“We have done so much touring now we didn’t want to be obvious and go the usual places but equally not tiny venues. It’s a mish mash on these shows by design.
“We tried to go to paces we haven’t been for a while or even before.
“The idea is to do this, get into Europe, do the summer festivals in Europe and UK and see where we land after that.”
Single Novocaine is out now. Album Power is released January 24 on Virgin/EMI.
Tickets for the tour are on sale at 9am next Friday, October 25 here.
