March 2, 2007 12:36

Dirty Pretty Things start work on new album

Follow-up to 'Waterloo to Anywhere' is under way

Dirty Pretty Things have started work on their new album, NME.COM can reveal.

Speaking backstage on Tuesday (February 27) after We Are Scientists’ NME Shockwaves performance at London’s Astoria, guitarist Anthony Rossomando revealed the band have written around 15 songs, half of which will likely make it onto the album.

But he says they don’t want the follow-up to ‘Waterloo to Anywhere’ to be a typical second album.

“We’re not interested in making some archetypal self-indulgent second album. Every band feels pressure for their second album because it’s supposed to be an elevation from the first one, but we’ve seen a lot of second albums come out over the past year and most of them aren’t really about anything, they’re just about trying really hard to write hits. We’d like to be able to do what Nirvana did which was to write songs that were popular but also have integrity. So we’re trying to do that I guess. Everything’s got to happen naturally, if it doesn’t it’s just bullshit and people will see through it. We’re not concerned with being massive we just want to be integral.”

And Rossomando says he only now feels like a proper member of Dirty Pretty Things.

“I actually feel for the first time since the last tour that it’s my band just as much as Carl’s. He’s really fucking cool about that. That’s what The Libertines were about, in the beginning anyway, it was about that bouncing off each other and collaborating.”

He admits being American brings a certain flavour to the band.

“I notice I’m using phrases I never would have used before, there’s a real cultural massive going on. Carl’s not into a lot of the stuff I grew up on and I’ve had to turn him onto things like TV On The Radio and he likes the Pixies now. He’s starting to come around to a lot of that stuff and I’m learning some of the traditional sing-song pub sailor vibes that he has about his writing which is really classic and makes them really stand out. He’s very Brit-centric.

The album is due to be recorded this summer with a release tentatively scheduled for September.