June 25, 2012 16:48

The Drums hit out at 'bad taste' indie collaborations

The Drums criticise indie bands for being too keen to collaborate for the wrong reasons

Photo Gallery: The Drums
Photo: Pieter M Van Hattem/NME

The Drums have criticised their fellow indie bands for being too keen to collaborate for the wrong reasons.

The Brooklyn band claimed that many of today's collaborations are in "bad taste" and lead to artists losing their identity. Band member Jonathan Pierce told the NME: "There's too many collaborations these days that have big dollar signs all over it - even inside of the indie culture. You know, like, bands teaming up and making sort of an indie power duo or something like that? It's just bad taste."

His bandmate Jacob Graham added: "Everybody just seems to be losing their identity. You know, we really just like bands with strong identities."

The Drums released their self-titled debut album in June 2010 and their follow-up, 'Portamento', last September. However, the band have revealed that they are planning a break before they begin their third. Pierce told the NME: "We accidentally sort of started [the album] and then we decided to just stop. We just know ourselves too well and if we keep writing, we're gonna have an album out before we know it and that's how 'Portamento' sort of leaked out." He added:

[quote]We didn't know that would happen then, but we've tried to learn from our mistakes in a way. Not that 'Portamento' was a mistake - we love the album, but we just want to take some time. When you have a new record out, you've got to be on the road for two years. So we've been on the road since we started this band and we're exhausted and we're just ready for some rest.[/url]

The Drums say they've already written two currently untitled new tracks that they "really love", but the band intend to leave them "sitting there on the shelf for a while". When asked to describe the tracks, Pierce said: "In a way they're a return to maybe... the blissfulness of the first album..." Graham then added: "But cinematic and grand on a 'Portamento' scale and dare I say orchestral?"

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