The Hoosiers made a quiet but excellent return to our world earlier this year with their second album 'The Illusion Of Safety'. We decided to catch up with lead singer Irwin Sparkes to find out just how he's found the new album, recording weird household noises and speaking Japanese...

PopDash: How have you found the reaction to the new album?

Irwin: It’s been really positive actually. We weren’t holding out a lot of hope for the media I suppose but then we were really surprised with the positive reviews. Having said that I’ve only read about two but I’m told it’s all good and I still listen to, and enjoy, the album so I’m happy.

PopDash: Do you listen to your own album a lot?

Irwin: This is the weird thing. With the first album, by the time it came out I was over it and haven’t listened to it in years now. With this album though I’m still listening to it and really enjoying it. Maybe that’s just my narcissism though.

PopDash: How do you react when you’re out and about and a Hoosiers song comes on to the stereo?

Irwin: Well usually it’s me who put it on so I’m relieved that I‘ve spent my jukebox money wisely. Then I take off my top and reveal my Hoosiers t-shirt.

PopDash: That’s not really true is it…

Irwin: No, not really. Actually, the other day I was in the gym and ran up the stairs just as the start of ‘Goodbye Mr. A’ came on the stereo, as if I had my own theme tune. Part of you feels like a massive tit when it happens but then the other part is happy that the songs are being played and that people like them.

PopDash: How would you say your new album compares to the first one?

Irwin: We’ve changed I think, we’ve certainly moved away from the 70’s style rock-pop of the first album and found our feet a little bit more on this new one. Having said that, we’re still a pop band and the songs have big choruses and everything else you would expect from a Hoosiers song.

PopDash: Is it true you used some quite unusual methods to record parts of the album?

We actually recorded the whole of the last track on the album on my laptop. We got to use a lot of unusual noises in the making of that like opening a fridge door in a flat in Acton and the rustling of garlic bread paper too. It’s refreshing to know that we can put something unusual inside a squeaky pop album. Plus it saved us loads of money in studio costs!

PopDash: Were there any household noises you tried which sounded terrible?

Irwin: Well flatulence just doesn’t work, it makes for terrible pop music.

PopDash: Your new single is called ‘Unlikely Hero’, what is it about?

Irwin: It’s actually about being liked and trying to make people your friends basically. It features a Japanese word we learned which is ungbaro, which means ‘Trying too hard to be liked’. our Japanese label taught us that word.

PopDash: Would you say that as a band, The Hoosiers are guilty of being ‘ungbaro’?

Irwin: I’d say we’re aware that when we first came out and we used a lot of bright colours and did things that would piss a lot of people off. It was doing that though which helped us stand out and avoid being bracketed as just another guitar band.

PopDash: The song is called ‘Unlikely Hero (I Like Everyone)’. Do you really like everyone? There are a lot of annoying people around…

Irwin: I had to be coalesced into singing that actually because it’s quite a vulnerable line. I generally think you have to look for the good in people though, maybe you just have to look harder in some than others.

PopDash: Do you ever lose your temper?

Irwin: I can get angry at record label people. I think that if you want things doing your own way, especially being on a major label, then you have to be quite strict and clear with what it is you want to happen. Other than that I tend to lose my temper over competitive things because I like to win. If I lose then the whole world can fuck off and die basically.

PopDash: How do you find making music videos? We really love the ‘Choices’ and ‘Unlikely Hero’ videos…

Irwin: Well we have delusions of grandeur that get the better of us I think. Originally ‘Choices’ was meant to be in a temple in China and ended up being filmed in a warehouse in Neasden and for the ‘…Hero’ video we were meant to be using a submarine in Tenerife and ended up in a quarry in Derbyshire. So it rarely goes to plan but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

PopDash: Perhaps for the next video plan something incredibly huge and ambitious and then what you end up with will still be good. I.e. say you want to film it in the White House and you might end up in a Chinese temple…

That’s a good idea actually. I guess that would be the optimistic way to plan it.

PopDash: Will you record another forty five minute version of one of your songs like you did with ‘Choices’?

Irwin: I imagine we might all go a bit mad if we were to try that.

PopDash: Can you just explain to people who might not know what you did with the last single?

Irwin: Yeah. We wanted to do something similar to getting fans up on stage with us but in a more permanent way so we got lots of people to send us new lyrics for our song ‘Choices’. we then got all these people to come in and record their verse and recorded an alternative, fourty five minute version of the song that the fans had created.

PopDash: Have you listened to the full version of the song all the way through?

Irwin: I haven’t actually managed to make my way through all of it actually but it’s something I will hopefuly do sometime soon.

PopDash: When can the fans come see you live? Have you got tour dates booked?

Irwin: It would appear that we’re playing hard to get at the moment but we’re just busy promoting the album at the moment. We’re keen to show people that there is more to us than the chirpy first few singles so when we feel we’ve got that message across then we will look to book some venues and get out on the road.

PopDash: And finally. How often are you told you look like Ben Stiller?

Irwin: Ha, well the funny thing is that it happens a lot but people always say “Have you ever been told you look like…’ as if they’re the first. What they should say is ‘How many times a day are you told you look like Ben Stilller?’ and the answer would be ‘lots’. It could be worse though, I’m happy with it.

The Hoosiers second album ‘The Illusion Of Safety’ featuring their singles ‘Choices’ and ‘Unlikely Hero’ is out now…