We Were Promised Jetpacks’ Adam Thompson talks current album and writing the next

By Jamie Hutchinson

Indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks kicks off another leg of its “Unravelling” tour, playing the Aquarium on Nov. 13. The Scottish band released its third album “Unravelling” in October of last year. Guitarist and vocalist Adam Thompson talked about adding fifth member Stuart McGachan, the bands that influenced them and working with producer Paul Savage.

HPR: Your latest album “Unravelling” was produced by Paul Savage, who has produced world-famous Scottish acts like Franz Ferdinand and Mogwai. What was it like working with him?

Adam Thompson, We Were Promised Jetpacks: It was really good. We’d done sort of a few days’ work with him before we went into the studio just running through some songs ... It was really good. It was a really nice experience working with him because all the other times we’d recorded it was just like every day for three weeks. But Paul’s got a kid so we work during the week and then had weekends off. It was really nice, a really pleasant recording experience.

HPR: Stuart McGachan also joined the band on “Unravelling.” How did his presence affect the sound of the album and how has it affected live shows?

AT: When it’s just a four piece you get quite used to what we were just doing. It was good to shake it up and the live sound’s a little fuller.

HPR: It’s been just over a year since “Unravelling” was released and you’ve been touring in support of it ever since. Does the material still feel fresh or are you itching to get some new material going?

AT: It feels like we’re done, and I guess because like eight months before it came out we recorded it and you just listen to it and you’re so involved with it and then it comes out and it’s all really fresh, but then after a couple tours you get that itch to move on again and do something else. We started writing a little quicker than we normally do after an album comes out. It just felt right.

HPR: When the U.S. tour ends, do you plan to jump right back into the studio?

AT: Yeah, pretty much. We have no concrete plans to sort of record the final album, but we’re quite enjoying writing just now and demoing and stuff. So yeah, I think there’s a couple of boys who are going on holiday in December and then we’ll get back to it after Christmas.

HPR: You’ve mentioned before that some of your influences are fellow Scottish bands Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad, but what other bands influence you or the band as a whole?

AT: I’m not sure. A little bit of everything. Yeah, a little bit of everything. Those two bands, Frightened Rabbit and Twilight Sad, they’re big for us because I think they came along at the right time for us. It was good to see Scottish bands doing really well and making great music that we really liked. They were great for Scottish music. You have two huge bands and they’ve had a big influence and given us hope that we could do something and also what kind of band we’d like to be. So yeah, I’d definitely say those two are the biggest influences.

HPR: And you guys are all part of that same scene in Glasgow.

AT: We just sort of moved to Glasgow from Edinburgh. The three of us moved to Glasgow about the time that Frightened Rabbit and Twilight Sad were kicking off and debut albums were coming out. It was really exciting. It was like, “Oh, this music’s slightly different to what I normally listen to. This is the stuff. This is amazing.” I think eventually we rejected the idea that they had so much influence on us but looking back, I think they probably did.

HPR: I’ve got to ask, what’s the story behind the name?

AT: The story is there’s no story. We had a big list of names and that one stuck. But that was a long time ago ... I always wish I had a better story for that.

HPR: It sounds like someone who’s angry at the past for not providing what was promised in the future.

AT: No, we’ve never ever talked about that or ever thought that really. It’s just a name. I like it. It has a good ring and it certainly helps people remember our band. But yeah, no, we’re not angry because we’ve not got jetpacks.

IF YOU GO:

We Were Promised Jetpacks with SEOUL and Go Murphy

Fri., Nov. 13, 9 p.m.

The Aquarium (above Dempsey’s), 226 Broadway, Fargo

Advance tickets available at Orange Records and www.ticketweb.com