Speaking of the recording process, Simon states, “We worked with a guy called Jake Day at North Acre Studios, who I’ve known since primary school and I’ve done other projects with him. I thought he’d be a good fit for Superbia, it was mastered by a guy called Grant Berry. We loved the way it sounded.” The band decided that this recipe should also be used for Virtues, because if it’s not broke, it doesn’t need fixing. Simon continues, “Joe records the drums in the studio, the two Nicks record their guitar and bass parts at home, Jake puts them together, then I go and do the vocals, then we add the backing vocals – we’ve got a pretty streamlined process.” With the whole process seemingly nailed down, how long does it take to pull it together? Nick B explains, “Joe smashed out the drums over a weekend. The guitar parts were added over a few weeks and then Simon went into the studio to record the vocals. The vocals were done over a few evenings to make sure Simon was protecting his voice.” Simon adds, “t was probably about an hour on each song, and it was good to be in the studio to get producer feedback…When you hear yourself speaking you sometimes think do I sound like that? In my mind I might think that was a really good take, but Jake might politely say ‘you can do better’.” Nick B adds, “he’s got a nice way of doing that.” underlining the importance of the relationship between artist and producer.

Without wanting to open old wounds, I asked whether thoughts of performing the songs live influenced the writing process. Nick M explains “Bibble (Nick B) always writes tracks for two guitars. He played bass and rhythm guitar on this album, and I added the lead.” To replicate what they do in the studio on stage, they always add a second guitarist to the line-up for their live shows but work as a 4-piece in the studio.

The Reaper was unanimously agreed to be the first single released from Virtues. Nick M states, “When we were sending demos around, it stood out for all of us as a massive track.” Nick B picks up the story, “I’m good at starting songs and getting a riff, but finishing a song is a nightmare. That was a riff that was knocking around for ages that I said – like that and parked it, then started something new. Then as studio time got closer, I needed to get the tracks finished. So, this was one of the first tracks to be worked on but one of the last to be finished.” The lyrics were mainly Joe, with Simon added a few bits to fit with his singing style.

Nick M continues the theme of lyrics for the album, ‘It’s mainly Joe and Simon – Simon did all of Clean Slate (the working title for Alive Again)’. Simon explained the story behind the song ‘Bibble sent over the chorus idea, I was sat on my sofa – got an idea, ran upstairs, recorded lyrics and melody for the chorus and it stuck. Then over time, just worked on fleshing out the verses and pre-choruses. It’s a song about believing in yourself, knowing that you’ve got friends and family around and you can get through anything’. Nick B added ‘Musically the one that’s come together the quickest, but it’s a bit of weird one – a step outside our normal sound’. Simon then picks up the story of Blow Your Mind explaining the lyrics are about patience and determination, ‘if you go through a tough time and sometimes question in music if you’re good enough and is it all worth it’. The song is affirmation that it is worth it, and Simon continues ‘we hope that’s how the song is perceived’.

Let the Good Times Roll is one of Nick M’s favourite tracks on the album: “It’s a feel-good track, check in on your mates, swing by and have a beer. There are some cheeky lines, vocally, that I think are awesome, when I heard the mixes back, it stood out to me as a track I was really going to get into.” At the opposite end of the spectrum is Saint Restraint, a track which is quite personal to Joe. “Without going into any details, it’s about a health scare that he had,” Nick B explains. He continues that as well as the message, Joe “also had a good hand in the riff”. The band wanted to have a bit of a southern rock feel on this track “Hopefully we succeeded”, says Nick B. Another track that Joe had a big hand in is Grindstone. Musically, Simon liked the way the chorus has vocal overlaps, stating, “It kind of adds to the chaotic part of Grindstone.” Nick B continues, ‘It’s about tenacity – it’s about grafting, we love doing what we do, but it can be a bit of graft and you’re not going to get anywhere without a bit of hard work’.

Simon tells us that On the Edge was the hardest track to write on the album, both lyrically and musically. “We do work well together, but there are times when we do butt heads. I was adamant on my verses and Joe was adamant on his verses, and in the end we ‘frankensteined’ them together, and we spent ages and ages on the chorus. We had multiple ideas, couldn’t agree on any of them.” In stepped referee Nick B who was able to come up with a compromise. This is another example of the collaborative approach the band have which allows them to get the best out of each other. Although it’s obvious that the band are a tight unit, there is still sometimes trepidation when sharing ideas. Distant Love Affair is a track Simon had been sitting on for a while, the band wanted to do an acoustic track or ballad to push the boundaries and so he brought the demo to them, although he wasn’t confident of how it would be received. To his surprise, they all loved it. “It’s a privilege to have it on the album,” he says, “I’m really glad it made it. We’re thinking more like a headline band and creating a headline set, and songs like that are creating more of a show.” Nick B adds, “If we’re playing for an hour or an hour and a half headline show, and it’s all go, all of the time, that’s pretty boring to be honest. You’ve got to have dynamics in the set.”

The final track on the album, For You is a love letter to the fans. Simon explains, “At the end of the day, what we do isn’t possible without fans. I don’t know about the others, but I absolutely love it. I love being on the road, sleeping on some stranger’s floor when we’ve got no hotel room. I love loading in at 2 AM” – (the integrity of this comment was questioned slightly by the other members). The last line of the song asks ‘Did you enjoy the show?’ making it an obvious song choice to close the album. Although For You was the obvious choice for the final track, the order in which a band presents their tracks to the listener on an album is vitally important. “We all had our own approach to it,” explains Nick M, “We all had our own lists. There were some similarities, some differences and compromises, but it was quite easy to put together…You want it to weave and tell a story, and we all had our thoughts and listened to each other’s ideas and we’re all really happy with the final decision.”

When you listen to the album, which we at ERB would highly recommend, you’ll hear lots of opportunities for audience participation in a sort of call and response fashion that will work well in a live setting, or equally as well when you’re dancing around your lounge. Nick B confirms, “That is something we always consider when writing a song, we want to people to enjoy being involved and write bits that people can singalong to.” This approach is something that has been evident throughout the interview; not only do the band write music for themselves, they ensure that their fanbase is always at the centre of what they do.

Throughout the interview the two Nicks have been referred to by their nicknames, but what are the stories behind them?  Nick B’s ‘Bibble’ comes from a fashion faux pas, some fifteen years ago. “I once wore a woolly bobble hat, and they started calling me Bibble Bobble head Blackburn.” Nick M is simply ‘Manners’. “I’ve been Manners since my university days,” he says. Curiously, Simon doesn’t yet have a nickname – that sounds like an opportunity for the other band members to me.

We ended the interview with a couple of Sam’s Quickfire Questions

What kind of meal or snack would the album be?

Nick M is partial to a sweet treat called ‘Cinnabuns’. “I stick a family pack of those in the microwave and eat.”

Nick B doesn’t need to think twice. “As soon as you asked the question, a charcuterie board came into my head, it’s a good mix of different flavours.”

Simon perhaps paid the price for going last. “That’s a lot better than what I was going to say’. His selection was a little less exotic. ‘A bag of M&M’s or jelly babies’. However, we did manage to convince him to consider trying Revels for a bit more of an adventure.

What non-musical item the guys would like to take on tour with them?

Nick B was straight in with “A Pillow for me, definitely a pillow, it’s a bit of a home comfort.”

Nick M, “I got a massage gun for Christmas last year, so that’s coming with me 100%.”

Simon once again kept it real, “A four pack of beer at least” This was greeted with derisory laughter all round. I suspect the final count of beers consumed may be a bit higher than four.

Sam and I are really grateful for the time the guys gave us. They are genuinely nice guys, and they’ve made a fantastic second album. It’s clear they enjoy working with each other and equally clear they love everything about being in a band. Having seen them live before, I already know they put on a great show and adding the new material into set is only going to enhance the experience for audiences up and down the country.

You can read our review of Virtues here