"You'd not believe that Aereogramme couldn't find a pub in Glasgow" despairs Campbell McNeil as we trudge out of the umpteenth hostelry in the city into the pissing rain once again. Mind you, it is Friday teatime and the office workers are just gearing up for the weekly descent into 48 hours of debauchery. Our requirements are specific: somewhere quiet enough to sit and talk, basically, so the Arches is out (no seats), as is Morrissons, the band's favoured "old men's" pub (there's a function on), so they'll have to forego their pie and beans.
The establishment of choice is the insanely crowded Solid Rock Cafe where our trail started - Twisted Sister picture discs adorn the walls and the Chilli Peppers are on the big screen seemingly miming to Queens Of The Stone Age on the jukebox.
And that's how we find ourselves in the quieter Barfly, quieter that is apart from when undrpant-clad Har Mar Superstar's soundcheck doesn't filter through from downstairs.
This will be the band's last interview before they head off on a quick UK tour before they hit the USA. And, having been there last year, they have have got to like the place.
Campbell is perhaps the most enthusiastic. "It's like America is flawed to perfection," he states, getting great laughs from his bandmates. "It'll be an unpopular opinion but for very redneckthere's a kid who thinks he's Bill Hicks. It's patronising when Europeans assume they're all stupid - we go see their films every week, we buy their music, watch their cool tv shows every week. So much of the culture I love has com from the States, probably moreso than's come from Europe. Scotland's full of idiots. Not like the US has more, just they have an idiot for a president. Thing is Scotland probably has its own share of fuckwits. If you count the fuckwits in our country, there'll be more fuckwits per capita than anywhere in America. The sectarian bullshit in this country makes Alabama look quite bohemian!" That was tongue-in-cheek. However, the band won't be playing the tourist-friendly Southern States. "The driver told us last time, we don't even stop for petrol!" recalls Campbell.
The band will be in the US for 14 weeks, but for such a vast country they know they'll hardly make an impression. "You can hardly scratch the surface" says drummer Martin Scott. "Unless you're willing to tour for 340 days a year it's hard to make an impact." "This "if you tour hard you'll make it" thing is a myth" agrees Campbell. "There's always a band that can work harder than you. You have to go and be good. Sigur Ros did around 14 shows and were huge when they went back because they're fucking brilliant. If you're shite all you'll do is let more people know you're shite." Guitarist Iain Cook chips in. "The whole "get in the back of the van thing", sorry, "get in the van" - Freudian skip, that's our rallying cry - but those days are entirely gone. People have created heroes out of these guys in the 80's that shouldn't have been heroes. So many thought all you need to do is play 300 shows a year and destroy your life into the bargain."
So they're not trying to crack America, they're just there for the lifestyle. "You get to the stage where it's burgers for breakfast" says the decidedly undernourished Martin. "He's not got disco tits" jokes Cambell, somehow implying that other members may be more prone to weight gain. "They wore off" says Martin, "but they'll be back!" Bassist Campbell, who due to his height and build could add a few stone without anyone noticing it, is alarmingly keen on the food. "It's just great to eat so fabuslously badly," he enthuses. "There's something in the air conditioning I'm sure; there's a certain smell to America. The first time I went, it was like there was a background radiation, millions of air conditioning units pumping it out. That's an exclusive insight into why there's so many fuckwits there as well. It IS in the air conditioning."
Mention of fuckwits takes us back to the deep South, which in turn gets Iain back onto the Great Metal Debate. He's unsure of the credibility of the 25 minute version of 'Freebird'. Your interviewer is meanwhile appalled that either, noth creators of the most affecting, varied, beautifully textured 'rock' album in many a year, could hold any truck with one of the biggest guitar wankfests ever committed to vinyl. Iain concurs, kind of. "80% of jazz is the same, just about me me me. Someone like John Coltraine and 'Love Supreme' stands up, but noodling does nothing for me and that was Skynrd last night" he continues. "I was appalled, I do like them and have to get to the bottom of it, the lack of musicality, 4 chords and endless guitar solos on the same scale." Campbell is unconvinced, pointing out it is the most requested clip ever on the Whistle Test. "If I'd been me in 1976 I'd have hated them, but with hindsight and rock history I ended up loving that shit. It takes me back, I can appreciate it, but wouldn't want to make it." And that takes us neatly to the 'influences' stage of the interview.
Singer Craig B has been sitting quietly until now - his views on Skynrd unrecorded - but as chief songwriter he's drawn into the conversation. "We're sincerely trying to use our imagination and ideas" he says enthusiastically, "not just "let's turn on distortion pedals or bring in an orchstra". This album's not trying to be 3 or 4 different things. I go see gigs and that's where a lot of inspiration comes from," Craig continues, "the Flaming Lips makes you go back and write something, want to create something as good. Not by copying it!" he adds. "Metallica changed my life when I was wee, and are still a really important influence. The spectrum of music we listen to - Metallica and Converge to Low or Red House Painters - inspires us to make music. I don't want to create one type of music because I don't want to listen to just one type. I don't think "this is really vicious, can we put it on the same album?". When I do mix tapes that's what I do."
Martin concurs: "It's not as much stylistic, as trying to capture a breadth and range of emotions. That's what'd influence me, rather than the actual sound of a band, the fact they can achieve this depth and expansiveness." Oddly, this explains the beards too - well, kind of. "We've got an issue with how fashion-led music is at the moment," says Campbell. "Well, it has been since the late 80's, and and off... so the beards started as a laugh but it got deeper... it's like a gang mentality without silly suits." And the current penchant for grotesque photos is part of this. "It's making 4 ugly guys look... more ugly."
Iain leaps in as Campbell pauses for breath. "What we do is not unique, but the way we put it together is unique. I hope there's some way in the future people will say "that's so 21st century"".
"So no-one, the band included, are quite sure what kind of music they're making!" laughs Campbell. "We'll never make the greatest metal or greatest electronic record..." he continues. "We're trying to think for a name for what we do because we need a pigeonhole and that's the secret to success. If the only way to be successful in the 21st century would be to select your favourite part of the last half of the 20th centruy and work really hard at aping it, we might as well just pack up and go home. The only thing that separates us from being animals is that we create art, and if you just regurgitate art then that's the end of humanity! The best review we ever had was in Logo, saying there's nothing new hre but you've never heard it in the same place before."
He pauses as something occurs to him. "Bach is widely criticised for being a distillation of what went before in the baroque period... though we don't want to compare ourselves to JS!" The others pay homage, raising their glasss. "The big man, big Seb."
"He suffers from quiet/loud though!" Craig jumps in. "It was Mogwai that invented that!" argues Campbell. "I can see what Mogwai did" he continues "but there was the shoegazing explosion which died on its arse and they took it down to the tune and their earlier stuff was beautiful, based purely around melody.. but it came right out of that scene that everyone hated. Thy talk about Sling because Slint are cool but don't mention the God Machine or Ride."
"We've been described as Sigur Ros with metal moments and I can't see that" recalls Craig.
Campbell: "I'd like to hear Sigur Ros with metal moments!"
"There's no way those kids can rock" Iain contends. "Icelanders can't rock!"
"I don't mind talking about influences" says Craig, "but we just get compared to these bands I respect - and I've just been influenced by the same bands they were influenced by. People forget there's a huge electronic and ochestration element to what we do, and people sometimes just focus on one thing."
And that's how the album is called what it is - they create a musical tension and then a release.
"It's not just loud/quiet," points out Iain, "it's all these tensions, like on the harmonic level where you have a dissonant chord and you release it by resolving it. The times you feel safe, 'Sleep', and when you're creating this release, those are the two perfect moments. Well, and maybe a good movie or art if you're that way inclined, but for me..."
"There's probably religion as well" intejects Martin. "I think that's the problem with religion" replies Iain. "I never got to the release, I just got the tension! That's the problem with religion, the whole sketch is orgasms in the afterlife - one big one for the rest of eternity!"
The band's lyrics are full of at-times ambiguous religious imagery which reflects their own 'beliefs', it seems.
"Religion is a huge influence in my life," says Craig, "specifically I met Iain at a bad Christian concert." Stryper? "No, that's good Christian!" he laughs. "It still fascinates me, and I did theology at university. Since I was born I was brought up by some religious relief. I find the imagery really fascinating and a really interesting subject."
But it seems the lyrical ambiguity is intentional. "It threw up more questions that I already had - I'm not anti religious, it can help a lot of people - I'm not going to sit here and say what they believe is a lie. But there's too many questions to say I've found the answer."
Iain seems to agree. "I never had any faith but admire it in people - I think the songs are more about faith than religion."
"I think the desire to find faith is inherent in our species," says Campbell. "Just about veryone needs to find something, be it someone else or a religion. I admire faith when it's not to the exclusion of everything else. Though I'm very wary of anyone who knows they're right because they're capable of anything. Those are the people you can't trust."
Martin wraps up the theological debate. "Religion provides a framework for your faith," he says. "It gives you a set of rules, but it's more interesting if you try and understand why we're here. I'm not sure I'll find any answers either."
"Except in SLAYER!" booms Iain.
Rather than get into a metal discussion again I move on to the album.
"It sounds to me like a band that have been playing together for a while" Iain says.
"I find it very difficult to talk about my own music" admits Campbell. "It's like discussing your sex life; it's so personal. And lyrics are even more personal" he adds, nodding to Craig. "It seems so self-evident. It's a record, listen to it!"
It transpires the album took 5 weeks to record, twice the length of 'A Story In White'. "W were pushed for time, but we'd still be pushed for time in 10 weeks" Martin confesses.
"It has a sense of urgncy," he adds. "There is a kind of energy which comes from knowing you don't have much time."
"And the rough edges makes it seem quite vital," Campbell adds. "Though no-one may see them apart from us. But huge expenses of professionalism are boring 9 times out of 10."
So they'd not take more time next time? "I'm guilty of over-thinking," says Craig. "Someone said it was convoluted, but at the end of the day the tune is king - and that's the strength of this album, the tunes are there despit us throwing 60 years of musical history at them."
Interview courtesy of Is This Music? Magazine (http://www.isthismusic.com)