In the opening week of sales, Everything Everything’s second album – the appropriately titled Arc – doesn’t look right perched at number three on the UK charts.
Wedged between Bruno Mars and a soundtrack featuring the vocals of Russell Crowe, it appears about as comfortable as a tiger slouched up against a suburban pet store window.
Since breaking in 2010, Everything Everything has tiptoed between the cracks of popular genres, befuddling critics with a sound straddling schizophrenic and exhilarating. Many have attempted to pigeonhole the Mancunian four-piece with comparisons to Coldplay, Bloc Party and even Radiohead. None of the labels have stuck however.
Although Arc may be more accessible than the band’s debut – the acclaimed Man Alive – frontman Jonathan Higgs assures it’s not an attempt to dive into the mainstream populous.
“I think it (the first album) was blocking people at a certain door. I always felt that there was a barrier and no one was really looking at us, they were looking at tricks,” an affable Higgs recalls.
“It was more a question of being like the freak that walks into a room instead of making a proper connection. There wasn’t any time to know what the hell was going on.”
“We wanted to remedy that this time and take a bit more time to do things,” he affirms.
“I think it (the first album) was blocking people at a certain door… no one was really looking at us, they were looking at tricks.”Speaking in his first Australian interview amidst store appearances and a die hard English winter, Higgs sounds positively chipper.
He’s got good reason to be, too. Any fears of a sophomore shank dissolve after a quick spin of Arc. It’s an astounding follow-up – dizzying in its innovation but more focused than its predecessor.
Launch single ‘Cough Cough’ provides a hand-hold between albums one and two. The hyperactive pace echoes the dystopian lyrics and hints at a band still uneasy with society’s status quo.
The evolution of the band commences with ‘Duet’. Along with ‘The House Is Dust’, it’s as tender as anything they’ve strived for. Both tracks are also markedly less frenetic, with the latter ending with Higgs accompanied by a lone piano; a prime example of the band’s newfound willingness to tap the brakes.
“One of the things that happened with Arc was that we left out meaningless distractions or meaningless little routes we could’ve gone down. We wanted to stick to the song and stick to a truer version of things,” the frontman explains.
“With the first record, it was more like songs would fall out of us and we would assume that was the best they could be. With this one we wanted to make the songs work more.”
There were no butterflies for the band in entering the studio for a second time. This confidence was fuelled by the freewheeling approach of their first release, which – according to Higgs – meant they hadn’t restricted themselves to any particular style or genre.
“We didn’t ever feel threatened by what we had done before,” he proclaims.
“The best aspect of making that first album was the freedom it gave us ‘cos it was so sort of scatterbrained. We hadn’t painted ourselves into a box in any way, so that kept us quite relaxed about it. We could tinker and do anything we want.”
It’s an approach that many are declaring will formulate into one of the bigger releases of 2013. Even Pitchfork – the same publication who labeled their debut “the self-absorbed musical equivalent of having 12 browsers open at the same time” – has been far more receptive.
It also helps that a bevy of industry heavyweights like Elbow, Noel Gallagher, and Chris Martin have been unabashedly vocal regarding their fondness for the group.
Much like a promising dictator, Everything Everything is taking potential world domination in their stride; “You never really know what the next thing is gonna be. It’s very hard to tell when and what,” says Higgs.
“Reviews are one thing, albums sales are one thing, then people that come to your shows is a different thing. It’s very hard to gauge, actually.”
“When a band that you really respect (referring to Muse) gets in contact and says; “we think this is good, we want to take you on tour with us,” those are the times when you think; ‘yes, maybe we’re doing well’,” Higgs explains.
A support slot under Muse provided the ideal stage apprenticeship. It allowed them behind the curtain and into the internal mechanics of a band whose reputation is to deliver a show of Eternia proportions night after night.
The experience prompted the band to challenge their own live deficiencies, namely the lack of connection between Higgs as frontman and the audience.“I don’t think we can spill any proper beans [but] touring Australia is something that we’ve talked about quite a lot.”
“I had a keyboard at the front and was just hitting samples and not playing piano at all,” Higgs says.
“In the last three or four months we drafted in a keyboard player to do all that and he stands at the back. What it’s opened up now is that I can run around. I can be much more of a performer as frontman.”
“It just feels like a natural step up and a much more engaging presence,” he adds.
With refinements to their live repertoire and a new album capable of appeasing casual boppers and indie rebels alike, Australia appears a logical place to circle for their touring itinerary.
There’s a certain get-together 480 miles north of Sydney in late July that seems a particularly attractive proposition for the Manchester foursome. Conveniently, it’s also the same festival where close pals Coldplay have stamped their headlining credentials.
“I have heard of that. I’d love to,” says Higgs, referring to the upcoming Splendour In The Grass Festival (just in case you hadn’t figured).
“I don’t think we can spill any proper beans,” he adds with a cheeky vagueness.
“Touring Australia is something that we’ve talked about quite a lot. I don’t think there’s any beans in the hands yet but there will be soon, hopefully.”
The band’s growing contingent of Australian fans will be hoping so, too.
They’ll be similarly hoping Arc charts just as aggressively as it has in the UK.
Not only will this help clean up the stink left by the appearance of ‘Russ’ Crowe, it will also prove just desserts for a band whose appetite for innovation is worthy of sustained success.
Arc is out now through Sony Records, read the Tone Deaf review here. Read about the rumours for the Splendour In The Grass 2013 lineup here.
