Whilst their new album echoes the strident, hook-heavy Britpop and Manchester influences of the band’s debut on tracks such as the explosive opening title-track and 'Do I Need You Now?' it’s equally an album that demonstrates an organic evolution. 'The End' – written by guitarist Johnny Took – shows Kim Moyes’ influence with its dark electronic production and synths, while the psychedelic-tinged 'Emily Whyte' – written by guitarist Matt Mason – erupts into an epic, blissed-out album closer.

More broadly, the most transformative element of the band’s sound comes in the shape of Tommy O’Dell’s vocals; the character and attitude of his voice now heightened with a fresh, soulful element.

So the album is out on Friday - how are you guys feeling about it?

Yeah, good. We're excited to get it out there and for people to enjoy it, and to get out on tour on Friday. 

The singles so far have had a really positive response. Is the band potentially headed in perhaps a slightly different direction with this second album?

Yeah this album is more produced and polished. We worked with a producer and we had better equipment so it's not as garagey. But some of the songs were written around the same time as Hills End so it's still the same sound. 

Did working with a producer make it a different process?

Yeah I learnt a lot, and had help with my vocals. I had someone to tell me what sounded good and what didn't. The producer zoned in on a few aspects and helped with the rhythmic structure.

Are you guys excited to be getting out to festivals this summer? Liverpool Sound City is only a couple of weeks away...

Festivals are always good to road-test tunes and get more of an understanding of how they'll go down and if the crowd are vibing off them. It's different to playing your own gigs because the crowd aren't all your fans, so you've gotta keep everyone interested. There's a few of the new tunes I think will go down really well at festivals. 

You're playing Manchester on Saturday and you often get compared to Britpop bands like Oasis. How do you find UK crowds?

Yeah UK crowds have taken a liking to us, especially the further north you go, in places like Glasgow. They're similar to Australian crowds, but probably a bit rowdier.

What are you guys listening to on the road?

I've been listening to a lot of The Weeknd and vibing a lot off him recently. Obviously we always go back to our favourites like Springstein and Dylan. I've also tried to listen to more soulful vocal stuff, like Frank Ocean. Death In Vegas as well, and the guy who produced our album is from The Presets, so I had to go back and remind myself of that.

What’s your favourite track from the album personally?

A track called 'Time and Money' strikes a nerve with me more than other songs. It's nostalgic and we tried to keep the production quite minimalistic.