Interview with The Sun

Rated 4/5

SCOTS scallies The View were compared to The Libertines when they emerged with their debut, Hats Off To The Buskers, in 2007.

With a No1 album, which was also nominated for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize, the Dundee four filled the gap left when the English rock band dissolved in 2004.

For second album Which Bitch? they’ve kept some of their frenetic anthems — such as brilliant recent single 5Rebbeccas — but added some surprises and softer touches with piano, an orchestra and even a collaboration with Paolo Nutini.

Here singer and guitarist Kyle Falconer, 21 and bassist and vocalist Kieren Webster, 22, tell JACQUI SWIFT about working with Paolo, their album and some of their legendary partying antics.

Was it hard to follow up such a successful debut?

Kyle: It wasn’t difficult at all. We did about seven weeks in total in the studio and it just worked. We had a great time in (Monnow Valley Studio) Wales.

What did you get up to?

Kyle: Lots of fun and dressing up. There’s lots of fancy dress on this album. Kieren was a pirate and I was a witch. Our producer Owen Morris even stole my hat and superglued it to his forehead for nearly a week.

So why Which Bitch?

Kieren: We’re always being asked by girls we know and girlfriends if our songs are about them. Kyle can never remember so the title means “Which bitch am I singing about in this song?”

Tell us about the song One Off Pretender.

Kieren: It’s about the injustice of what happened to us when we spent the night in an Aberdeen jail cell. We were DJ-ing and tried to split up a fight on the floor. We weren’t even that drunk, it was a pretty sober night. Then when we were on the bus, this policeman arrested me and Kyle.

So more songs about being drunk and getting into trouble?

Kieren: Double Yellow Lines is about drunkenly finding your way home following road lines. Give Back The Sun is about being chased out of a brothel without even knowing it was a brothel.

Kyle: We do what all our mates do, what any young lads do at our age but because we are sort of in the limelight, we get into trouble.

Like causing £7,000 of damage by flooding a Travelodge?

Kyle: I just fell asleep while the bath was on. I saw that it was flooding out of the bathroom, so I thought, “Sh*t, I’d better get out of here, man.” But then I was told it had flooded down to the next floors, so I was like, “Oh s***, I didn’t know. It wasn’t intentional.”

But there are some big surprises, like the track Distant Doubloon.

Kyle: I love show music and wanted to get that across. It’s like characters from Treasure Island with an acoustic guitar and loads of piano. It’s like the sounds of the sea and has loads of orchestra.

Teaming up with Paolo Nutini on the track Covers is another surprise. How was it working with him?

Kyle: Amazing. We had a brilliant time with him in the studio. He was working next door so we invited him in. The track was already recorded with me singing on it but then he had a go and it sounded even better. We had a bit of a party that night.

Do you hope you’ll get another chance to tour the US after your conviction for cocaine possession, Kyle?

Kyle: I hope so. I was irresponsible and it’s not fair for the band.

We’re still trying to get back but it’s hard. When we toured Australia and Japan, on the way back we had to stop in LA to refuel. But then they wouldn’t let me back on the plane and put me in a room for 12 hours. The authorities were saying I wasn’t allowed in this country and all we were doing was refuelling. I hope we can sort it.

By Jacqui Swift, The Sun, 6th February 2009