Interview: The Drums - T in the Park stars

THE Transatlantic Musical Appreciation Society has been open for business for several decades, since well before the members of The Beatles would queue up to hear the latest waxings from Chuck Berry and Little Richard and, in turn, the United States submitted to the British Invasion of mop-topped beat groups.

The latest US import to be clasped to British bosoms is Brooklyn four-piece The Drums, whose summery indie pop with a heavy heart is proving such a hit with their away fanbase that the band have virtually taken up residence in the UK. Their burgeoning success over here is all the sweeter to the group because they have always looked to this side of the pond for musical inspiration. More specifically, to a certain bygone breed of indie band. And even more specifically, to a certain obscure outfit from Scotland.

"We originally set out to start a band that sounded like The Wake," runs a quote on the bio page of their website, marking what is possibly the first significant reference to this all-but-forgotten Glasgow-based combo since their late 1980s "heyday" when they were signed to Factory Records.

The Drums' guitarist, Jacob Graham, cites hearing The Wake's song Pale Spectre as the defining let's-move-to-New-York-and-start-a-band moment for him and singer Jonathan Pierce. "That's what put us over the edge," he says. "We thought, 'this is perfect music and there's no one doing it anymore' so we decided to try do it ourselves."

Driven by the urge to write the perfect pop song, The Drums' unexpected, single-handed 1980s indie pop revival commenced. The Wake were one dot in the somewhat incestuous indie landscape of their day and Graham found that discovering the music of one band would lead him on to his next obsession.

And so it is that one of the most-hyped groups of the moment talk with reverential enthusiasm about a bunch of mainly Scottish indie bands from an underground scene which was at its modest height when The Drums were still toddlers.

At the time, these bands were corraled under the banner "C86", named after a cassette given away with the NME which gathered together the prime indie movers of the day, including The Wedding Present and Half Man Half Biscuit and a healthy contingent of Scottish acts such as The Soup Dragons, The Shop Assistants, The Close Lobsters, a pre-rock'n'roll Primal Scream and indie dons The Pastels.

They were dubbed "shambling bands", characterised by their jangling guitars, pure pop melodies and apologetic stage presence, galvanised by a DIY culture of fanzines and flexidiscs and, in Scotland anyway, greatly influenced by the independent blueprint of Postcard Records and post-punk heroes Orange Juice - who just happen to be The Drums' other great musical crush.

The influence of these groups can be heard in the chiming tunes, simple arrangements and wistful, longing lyrics of The Drums' self-titled debut album, which succeeds in capturing a guileless adolescent romanticism. Even so, Graham can't quite put his finger on the strange, exotic appeal of these pale-faced, floppy-fringed indie kids of yore.

"I don't know what it is exactly," he says. "A lot of those bands that we love - like Orange Juice, The Wake and Altered Images - all sound vastly different from each other so I think it's less about the actual music than something behind the music. The spirit of the whole thing seems similar, somehow."

Glasgow has become something of a mecca for The Drums. Having "romanticised from afar", they have now played in the city a number of times, making the most of their fleeting visits. On one such occasion they paid homage at Monorail, the independent record shop (selling vinyl records and everything) which is run by Stephen Pastel - a very good place to start, as it turned out.

"We just happened to be hanging out there and met some kids, who invited us to their concert," says Graham. "Then one of the bands had to drop out so we just jumped in and played an impromptu set. It's things like that that make it seem really special to us because it just feels like Glasgow is a place that embraces that spontaneity. It almost has a New York type vibe where things are always happening. Glasgow and New York have always had a back-and-forth relationship in a way, with the Velvet Underground and then Orange Juice, where one informs the other. We feel so honoured to be part of that whole chain of events."

Sure enough, young Drums fans are now discovering the music of not-so-fresh-faced Scottish indie janglers such as The Orchids, who release a new album in August. Although The Drums are signed to a major label, Graham has got into the DIY spirit himself by setting up his own indie label, Holiday Records, which has, to date, released free MP3s by a whopping 33 bands via its weekly online singles club.

And as their own reputation grows, The Drums are finding that the Transatlantic Musical Appreciation Society is definitely a mutual set-up.

Former Altered Images frontwoman Claire Grogan sang with the band at a recent gig in London, while Tracyanne and Carey of The Drums' current fave raves - and keepers of the C86 flame - Camera Obscura have also joined the band onstage.

They were also "humbled and blown away" to be invited to collaborate with Edwyn Collins on a track for his forthcoming album Losing Sleep, joining a guest list of other Orange Juice acolytes such as Franz Ferdinand and The Cribs. Of all the songwriting contributions on the album, their track In Your Eyes is the one that is most reminiscent of Orange Juice.

Like all devoted fans, The Drums are just happy for the opportunity to pay respect to their musical heroes, however unlikely some of them may be.

"Every time we meet one of them, they never let us down," Graham enthuses. "It's so strange to hang out with those people that you've read about for so long. They're legends to us."

• The Drums play T In The Park on Sunday. The Drums is out now on Island Records.

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DAVID POLLOCK

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