Thom caught up with Manchester Orchestra to talk about their tour supporting Biffy Clyro, playing festivals across Europe, their current album and much more.

Thanks for taking the time out to do this, I understand it's been a pretty hectic day for you.

It's been, really, pretty hectic. But it is what it is, it's the last day of touring in the UK and we head home tomorrow.

You've been touring with Biffy Clyro – how was that been? What are they like to tour with?
This is our second extended tour with those guys. Pretty amazing, to be honest. We met them the first time back in the States we were supporting the same band and immediately connected with the guys. Really great band.

We were there at the Southampton show hoping you guys would be there and you weren't
We didn't play the first three dates, I think Pulled Apart By Horses did?

How were you received throughout the Biffy tour here in Britain?
It was good, there was a lot of excitement around that tour because they've just released the new album and it's doing pretty well, but it's been an interesting few weeks. I definitely feel like we got to play to a bunch of people who hadn't heard us before and I thought their crowd was very respectful. They're so loud, and for such a loud band their fans paid attention through the set, which was cool.

You're only doing the one headline show?
We just got back from Germany where we did three headlining dates, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. And then just one in London.

Do you choose venues?
We haven't played Heaven before. I've enjoyed shows at Barfly Camden, but I think my favourite show that we've done in London would be the Kings College gig and that was back a year and a half now.

Where else have you played in the country, is there a tour coming up?
We have, in the past.

Another one?
I'm sure we will. It'll be a few months before that happens, but we'll be back.

You've got some shows with Brand New coming up.
We have one show before the new year with them – before this tour we had one day off to turn around laundry and see family, and two and a half weeks of solid touring with Brand New.

How was that? Are you fans of theirs? Friends?
Their new album is really great. It's not what I expected them to release. But it was cool to watch and hear that every night, but that's why it was a cool vibe. Like family. Their merch guys have sold merch for us in the past and their stage manager has driven for us in the past, their entire crew, we know. So it really felt like family.

Did you enjoy Reading and Leeds festivals this year?
Our second time.

Yeah you moved up a stage from the Festival Republic to the NME stage.
Yeah it was fun. The dynamic of the crowds, between Reading and Leeds... I think I enjoy Leeds more.

How did it compare to the first time?
It was cool on a bigger stage, we were with more friends. The first time we kind of did our set and left but this time we got to hang out with some bands we knew from back home, which was cool.

I'm going to stop with the live side of things now and move onto your
albums...

Your first album, Nobody Sings Anymore, is unreleased?
Never officially released, yeah.

Why is that?
We didn't feel like putting it out. It didn't represent the band at the time. That was years ago, myself and Andy, and a couple of other members who aren't with us anymore. But it's something cool to have in our catalogue and something for fans to go back and see what we'd done. Maybe we'll release it one day. I'm still really proud of the songs on it.

The second album, I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child, led to you being signed by Canvasback?
We toured for months before signing to them. They released it in the States and over here but that was months later.

The new album is released on Favorite Gentlemen records but the singles on both labels?
Yeah, but at this moment in time, that label doesn't really exist so... Were you at Reading or Leeds?

Yeah, Reading; you were the first band I saw.
Reading was interesting. We had some technical difficulties, which is always frustrating when you fly to a country for two shows, two forty-five minute sets, is always frustrating but.. We did Latitude too. That was fun but I really regret not getting there earlier. I think it was Thom Yorke's first solo show? We were trying to get our credentials, like, actually get into the festival and we could hear him.

The new album reached #37 in the US, is that correct? How did you do in Britain?
Not as well as that!

You shouldn't trust the British charts for anything really, I know that the album has been well recognised and received here so...
Yeah well we've seen lots of ticket sales but that doesn't really reflect copies sold. It's about getting music into the hands of the right people, that's why we do it.

How did the release of this album compare to the release of the first album? Obviously there was the emotions of it being your first release, and now you're more established...
It's all been a process. Everything is moving on, building upon. There was a different dynamic in the way that each album was approached but, it was a cool thing to watch. I think we finished it six months before we released it. That was definitely new, the feeling of sitting on something for six months, hoping it doesn't leak and waiting to release it. Kind of having it up your sleeve.

Was there any reason for the wait?
To properly release it, to wait until the right time. To wait for the time when we can tour off of it and build the anticipation. But building that anticipation is nerve-wrecking when you're sitting on something and waiting for your fans to get a chance to hear it.

There's a quote somewhere, can't quite remember it, something about all your sounds being authentic? Is that something you guys are big on?
When we record it, we record it all together and I think it comes across in the record. It sounds like a live show and that's a big thing for us. We'll go back and record extra vocals and stuff but, the most of what you hear is the real thing. Even the drum on I've Got Friends is an old casio toy keyboard played by hand.

You release quite a lot of Eps, is that to keep the process going...?
Always doing something new, always having the ability for the fans to discover new music or hear new stuff.

You did the MySpace transmissions.
Yeah we did that while we were out in LA.

Did they approach you or, how did it work?
Yeah we got an offer to do it, we scheduled it to fit with a show we were doing there and did it in the run-up to that show. We've done a few things like that. Later on the Live At Abbey Road airs over here which we did about five or six months back and was an incredible experience. Being able to do that in a studio with such history behind it was pretty amazing.

Are you going to continue releasing these Eps, or now that you're more
established...
We're always making new music when we're at home. We record a lot less when we're on the road, and we've been on the road a lot recently so we don't have the chance to record much. But when we're at home we get bored, and we own our own studio so we end up there late at night recording new music or covers or whatever it may be. Always doing something, and I think it's important to have that creative outlet, whether it be an EP or an internet track or a full release, to be always working on something.

What are your influences?
That's different for everyone in the band...

You personally?
I definitely think of music in terms of records, in terms of full albums. The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse, Radiohead; it's a toss up between Kid A and OK Computer, and maybe Sigur Ros, the parethesis album. The Mountain Goats...

What kind of set can we expect tonight?
It's going to be loud! We'll play a lot of songs off the new record, and some old ones too.

Your support tonight are Talons...
Yeah are they a London band?

I was about to ask you!
I don't know, we haven't played with them before but I remember checking them out on MySpace and liking what I heard.

Well I think that's about everything. Thanks a lot.

Interview by Thom Curtis