“We wanted to build something, to get a genuine vibe going. We wanted people excited about our gigs, to create a buzz, a demand for it.”

Adam Nutter , guitarist with Leeds electric-indie-types The Music, is talking about his bands’ ‘Four Cities’ jaunts, where they’ve played the same four UK cities (London, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow) over four consecutive months, which is set to culminate with shows like the sold-out London Astoria show next month.

However, he’s also talking about The Music’s planned return to music altogether. It’s been four years since The Music looked set to take on the world with the release of their second album, 2004’s Welcome To The North. In that time the band nearly tore itself to pieces – lead singer Robert Harvey’s alcohol addiction and accompanying depression were nearly a knockout punch after a series of gruelling world tours that had all but shattered the band.

“There were quite a few times were we contemplating splitting up because we couldn’t see an end,” he admits. “It’s frustrating not being able to do what you want to do.

“ We needed to become human again, and to rebuild our relationships. We needed a lot of time after we finished touring to get normal again, get be excited about what we were doing again – to be excited about music.” Nutter certainly sounds excited now. “We kept going to the studio and trying to do stuff but it just wasn’t happening. After a year and a half we had our personal issues sorted, and that’s when we really started afresh. We approached it with new enthusiasm, and me and Robert had sat down and started writing songs. The people that we played them to were really excited about them too, that did wonders for our confidence. We were sure that what we were doing people would still be interested in.”

The result is Strength In Numbers, an album that throbs moodily in the dark as much as it burns bright and hard like a magnesium flare. “We’ve been in a pretty dark place for the last couple of years. Our confidence was knocked with the second album not doing so well, and I guess that’s where the dark elements come from. But at the same time I think it’s uplifting as well.”