I’m sitting in one of Cardiff’s many Starbucks right now – dirty, corporate Starbucks… don’t you just love it? My accompanying time traveller, Danny, has gone to the Bay to see the Doctor Who exhibition, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to say hello and give you the juice on what’s going on with the band.

The elusive debut EP is on the way! There was a false start in the manufacturing process, but we’re assured that everything is going ahead now and we remain on schedule for a September release.

To give you an idea of how confident we are of this, we’ve already booked the studio time to record the next EP in October and are currently writing and rehearsing towards this. Early indications are that the new song we played at the Hare & Hounds a couple of weeks ago, Echoes Of The Great Empires, will be a major contender when deciding on the lead track and is all but certain to make the final tracklisting. There are a number of other songs beginning to take shape too that we are excited about, not to mention a healthy back-catalogue of demos to choose from. We’re looking forward to finally having the chance to re-record some of these with the production expertise of Ryan Pinson, who we feel very privileged to have worked with on the aforementioned Lights EP.

It’s been a busy time for some of us in the band, especially Steve. A fair amount of teching over the festival season, plus the recent Carina Round shows that both he and Stuart got drafted in for, has meant I’ve had plenty of time to myself – usually a sure catalyst for new lyrical ideas and inspiration. So it’s not all bad, although Steve is understandably exhausted and I’m strangely missing him cracking the proverbial whip, driving us forward as he so ably does… I’m convinced we’d never get anything done were it not for his enthusiasm and organising.

Dave continues to provide electrifying riffs and fascinating backdrops in ways unique to him. The next EP will be entirely his.

At this moment, I’m thinking the follow-up to the Lights EP will be called Rumours/Secrets. I think that would sum up the overall mood quite well – suggesting a sense of searching and frustration, yet also a deep-rooted faith in the things you know at bottom to be true. Where one ends and the other begins is always, it seems for us, up for debate. And believe me, having grown up in intensely religious circles, it’s taken me a long time to be okay with that. There’s freedom in admitting your limitations. I don’t know how anyone can live with having it all sewn up.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I’m off to see U2 at Wembley Stadium in a fortnight. Having not missed a tour since Pop in 1998 (at the old Wembley), I’ve come to expect nothing less than an awesome show. I sneaked a preview – along with countless other youtubers I’m sure – of them playing Ultra Violet in Barcelona. Unbelievable. The stage looks like something out of War Of The Worlds; it’s colossal, even by their standards. Let me know if you’re gonna be there on the 14th – we’ll grab a beer…

Michael