One of the most anticpated bands of this year- Dave Byrne took time out to have a quick chat with Brooklyn four piece 'The Drums'.

The Drums are one of "those" bands that you are supposed to like even before you have heard their music. Hailing from hipster mecca Brooklyn, the four piece fortunately did live up to their hype with their highly impressive self titled album in what they describe as 'pure simple pop'.

Supporting the likes of Florence and the Machine and Kings of Leon, the group took some time out to talk to BT editor Dave B about the Brooklyn music scene, the pressure of being a hotly tipped act and why they are NOT 'Surf Rock'.

Hello Drums- how are you today?

Hi there. We are all doing alright, I guess. A little drained from all this touring, but we go home in two days for a break so that will be nice.

You are from Brooklyn (a very exciting place musically), home to Yeasayer and uber trendy hippies MGMT- what is it about Brooklyn that results in so many bands?

Well, I think NYC has always been a place where great music has come from. Creative people tend to go to NYC and the poorer ones go to Brooklyn, because it's slightly more affordable than Manhattan, so maybe that is why so much is coming out of Brooklyn right now? We live in Brooklyn, but we have never really felt like we fit in there. Like, we never played with the "cool" bands. I think maybe we are too simple for the complex music that is coming out of that place.

Aside from you (obviously) who is the best Brooklyn band at the moment?

We all love this band Knight School. Noisy garage -pop with cool vocals. Check out The Hairs and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart too.

You were one of the most anticipated and hotly tipped bands for 2010- how does a band deal with the pressure?

Well, we found ourselves in a fortunate situation because we had pretty much finished our album before the excitement surround us got to a significant level, so while most bands get hyped and have to go in and record a great album, we had already made what we thought was a great album, and so we were just excited to release it. Also, we are so busy touring, writing, recording, designing artwork, and directing videos that we really spend all of our time being creative in this very incubated way so we don't have much time at all to come up for air and observe what is going on around us.

You have gone through an array of different bands and names, Goat Explosion, Elkland and Horse Shoes- how did the name “The Drums” come about? It appears to be the only one without an animal connotation?

Yeah, I dunno what all those names are about. Maybe it is because Jacob, Adam, and I come from farmland... We just liked the name The Drums because it seemed to line up with our songs. Simple and nostalgic.

Your music has been described in the past as “Surf Rock”- from what I can only assume is a result of your hit song “Let’s go Surfing”- for people that have yet to hear a Drums record- how would you actually describe your sound?

Well, I think if any of our 40 other songs were released as our first single, rather than "Let's Go Surfing" then no one would ever call us a "surf". We have only one song that mentions the theme of surfing. Our album is pure pop. Just simple pop songs about love and sadness and false hope.

You cite some of your influences as The Smiths, Joy Division, The Wake and The Zombies- some of these influences can clearly be heard in your (very impressive) debut album- was this a natural occurrence or something you think you did subconsciously?

Well, I just think the music that you listen to as a teenager sorta stays with you and put's a creative stamp on whatever you make, so even if we were to really try to not sound like The Wake or whatever, you would still pick up on The Wake in our music because we have loved that band and other bands like that so much and for so long that it naturally infuses itself into the songs we make.

What would one expect from a Drums live show?

Pure enthusiasm and a high degree of showmanship. We take our live show just as seriously as we take our songs and our haircuts.

What does the next year hold for the Drums?

Touring extensively and also starting work on the next album

Finally who would win in a fight- you or Vampire Weekend?

Depends on what we're fighting for.

The Drums debut album 'The Drums' is out now on Moshi Moshi/Island Records