With their new full-length 'Peachy' due this March, THE RHYTHM METHOD are changing up their sound with widescreen ambition. Or, as Joey Bradbury puts it: "I wanted it to not only fail at building a new audience, but alienate our current audience... That's what a real second album is supposed to do"

Words: Martyn Young.

"I was just finishing scrubbing the floor at the shop I work at." It is not the usual opening you expect when you speak to a pop star about their new record, but then again, The Rhythm Method have always occupied a unique space in the alt-pop firmament. The London duo of Joey Bradbury and Rowan Martin have been a cult act in the most traditional sense for a decade now. Adored by many yet reviled by some, above all else, the Rhythm Method are survivors, and their classic British pop eccentricity has endured to carry them into releasing their second album 'Peachy' four years after their engaging and ebullient debut 'How Would You Know I Was Lonely?'.

As Joey's floor scrubbing would suggest, though, this journey has been challenging and with more than a few diversions as the duo try to navigate their way through a musical landscape that is becoming ever more difficult for any act not at the very top tier to prosper. "It's very hard to make a living in music these days. It's nice to have a real job," says Joey. As the dream of the second album they created and completed at least a year ago finally begins to become reality, the duo are contemplating what it means to once again be The Rhythm Method. "I kind of came around to being okay with being a humble barber, so it's been hard getting back into that headspace of having a public-facing role, but we're getting there."

'Peachy' is the sound of a new Rhythm Method. The playful spark, humour and irreverence are still there, but this time, it's couched in a misty-eyed and wistful melancholy that makes the album supremely touching and moving in a way that their music has only previously hinted at. It's a significant step up. If it feels like a different band, then that's predominantly down to the marked change in circumstances in which the album was created.

Dodging numerous Covid lockdowns between 2020 and 2022, the band decamped to West Kirby and ex-Coral member and virtuoso singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Bill Ryder Jones's studio to create their own mini version of a masterpiece in their own idiosyncratic image. The band were aware that they were going against some of the kitschy, playful exuberance of the rudimentary lo-fi quality of their earlier work, but it was about time that they finally realised what being in a band in a creative sense truly could be.

"We really wanted to go for it when it comes to making a second album," says Joey boldly. "That classic idea of changing up your sound. We approached that in a tongue-in-cheek way, which is what we normally do anyway. I wanted it to not only fail at building a new audience, but alienate our current audience. In my mind, that's what a real second album is supposed to do," he laughs.

The difference in sound is a more guitar-led approach and working with a far more expansive sonic palette than before, burnished by the vocal flourishes and Celtic instrumental touches of whenyoung's Aoife Power. "It was generally a natural evolution to start flirting with guitars more. That came from travelling around the country and playing with a lot of bands," explains Joey. "Whenever I see a really good tight band, I always think to myself that nothing beats this. It's just pure entertainment."

This album marked the first time the duo were able to spend time in a proper studio with all the resources that came with it. "It opened up a world of new possibilities for them. "It gave me the hunger to do it more," says Joey excitedly. "It made me realise the actual creation of the album is where the satisfaction and the fun is. Rowan is more of a technician than I am; he's more musically keyed in and knows what he's talking about, and I've always been more instinctive, but being in the studio with not only a load of instruments but more brains with Bill and Aoife it gave us more to bounce off and more opportunities and more ideas. We had the idea to put some timpani on the outro to a song. Even though it's fake timpani, and we could have done that on the first album, I think just being amongst the real stuff opened more doorways."

The expansiveness and widescreen ambition of the album match the evocative hopeful sadness that adorns some of the songs, like the dreamy lament of 'Have A Go Heroes' or the stirring title track. The record is full of beautifully twinkly piano moments. Nobody does twinkling better than The Rhythm Method. Finding beauty in the mundane drabness of British existence, the band channelled their frugal touring experiences and all the hardship that entails into something heartfelt and touching.

"I think that comes from the inherent melancholy of driving around the British Isles," reflects Joey. "Driving along massive grey roads through different towns. Britain is a very melancholic place. Lyrically, on this album, it became obvious that we were writing about being in a band. The previous album was about being the people we are, but this time around, it's about being in a band and being on tour, and we wanted to approach that in a more interesting way than has previously been explored. It's like with stand-up comedians when they start travelling around, and all they talk about is hotels. We didn't want to just talk about the cliches. Catfish and the Bottlemen have a song called 'Soundcheck', and to write a song about the most boring part of being in a band is not what we wanted to do. We wanted to capture the mood and the feeling."

While the album is steeped in emotional resonance, this is also manifested in some brilliantly hook-laden pop songs that are quintessentially Rhythm Method but more direct than before, like their new single, the breezy jangle pop brilliance of 'I Love My Television'.

"A massive part of an album is the sequencing, and that's an art form in itself. I've always taken great pride in cracking that egg and making sure the sequencing is spot on, and you'll find that the idea with this album is the start is the leftovers from the previous era," says Joey. "It's essentially a sequel to the first album. The first few tracks lyrically have a lot more comedy and lightheartedness, but also, they're a lot more personal and about themes like isolation. 'I Love My Television' comes from one of the original demos when the Rhythm Method was just me, and I was unemployed and unemployable and having a bit of a breakdown. I wrote about two dozen songs within a couple of weeks. Obviously, a lot of them were terrible, but that song stood out for its catchiness."

Indeed, the song is so instantly memorable that Joey himself was taken aback. "I was convinced I must have ripped it off because it was so good," he laughs. "It's a proper catchy Lightning Seeds-style British pop song. To be honest, I'm still convinced that the main hook cannot be wholly original. I must have stolen it from somewhere. I've always thought that if you think you've stolen something, you either have stolen something, or you've cracked it and have a timeless melody. You know you're onto a winner."

With the album completed for a good while, the band knew they had these pop hits ready to deploy. "We've always had that song in our back pocket. Rowan got his hands on it, and he added that jangly sparkle. Having Bill produce it, who worked with Ian Broudie on The Coral albums, meant he was able to share some of that magic. I'm hoping Bill sends Ian the tune when it comes out. It's a British pop song. That's always the aim. Lyrically, it's about loving your television. I learned more from watching TV than school or anything else, really. The TV did a lot of heavy lifting, keeping me company as a kid, things like learning how to shave from that episode of the Simpsons where Homer was convinced he was dying. To this day, I'll use a little bit of toilet paper if I cut myself shaving, which I learned from that episode."

There's no doubt that despite the pride they feel in the album, the process of making it and then having to go through a number of delays waiting for it to finally be released was debilitating. "It's really taxing. It wasn't great for our headspaces," says Joey. "Once you get on the hamster wheel of the music business, you have to take the rough with the smooth and understand that delays happen. There were plenty of reasons why it was delayed. You had your backlog at vinyl plants and various other things that come with a small label; for example, it's very hard for them to do more than one project at a time.
Despite these setbacks, though, the band return to a thriving musical landscape, one in which they see some of the same playful spirit with which they first emerged in perhaps a more staid and conventional era for alt-pop. Now, British pop eccentricity is thriving.

"I don't think we, as the Rhythm Method, are influential in any way, but I do feel that what we were doing from ten years ago to now has come in. It feels like there are a lot more acts on the radio that sound like they're doing the thing that we do. That does fill me with a bit of frustration because the feedback we always had from radio producers was, 'Is this a serious band? Is this a joke?' Now, I hear a lot of speak-singy lyrics that are humorous and catchy. In a way, I feel like that was always bound to happen."

With a brilliant second album set to be released, the challenge for the Rhythm Method now is to get back on that hamster wheel and balance their working lives with the glamour and glory of live performance and bringing The Rhythm Method to life.

"I'm pretty certain we're going to do some touring. It's going to happen. There's a lot of work I need to do to get back into it," admits Joey. "It's hard because a massive part of me doesn't know if I want to do that. It's an inherently unhealthy pursuit for validation from people I don't know. I'm aware that without sounding big-headed, I am very good at performing live, though, and I am very entertaining. It's the thing I'm best at, so I should really jump on it. I've got to remember why we do this. It doesn't need to be an unhealthy pursuit for validation; it can just be a bit of fun."