Brighton’s own Architects have been around for a decade now. With no album sounding the same, the quartet’s lack of direction has split opinions upon every release whether it’s because they’re too technical, mainstream or political.
That is until their latest effort ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together‘ dropped this month, finding the perfect balance between the melody and the heavy riffs Architects look set to conquer.
We caught up with guitarist Tom Searle in the midst of the UK leg of their European tour. Check out what he had to say.
HTF: Lost Forever // Lost Together is out, how are you feeling?
Tom: I am feeling really excited. The album seems to be going down well and we have had our highest charting ever midweek. It has been a barrage of good news for the last couple of months really. The only time I get to relax is when we play shows, because offstage it is never ending.
HTF: What sort of reception has the album received?
T: Really good, I haven’t seen anything negative. It is one of our only records that fans and press seem to have agreed on. We have done records that haven’t been well received and it is not a nice feeling. We have been trying our best to take it all in and enjoy it.
HTF: What were you expecting?
T: Not for it to go down as well as it has. I really had no idea that it would be so popular. It is dangerous to have expectations that are high, so I think we just normally go for the mentality of this album will give us another year of touring and then we’ll do another album.
HTF: Why did you stream the album before the release?
T: That is a label decision, lots of labels are doing it. I couldn’t tell you the reason why. I am sure there are numbers and figures somewhere that it proves that it boosts sales, even if you might think it doesn’t. You can put it on Youtube and think that that puts the record out there and you don’t even need to buy it, but no one wants to go onto Youtube every time they want to hear an album.
HTF: The tour has kicked off, how has it gone down so far?
T: Really good. We have never done a tour with any sold out shows on outside of London. We have had few sold out shows already and there is a few more to come. It’s not about the amount of people at the shows, it’s the reception. Everyone has generally been going nuts. The shows so far on this tour have probably been some of my favourite that we have ever done.
HTF: Is that down to the new tracks? How have the fans received them?
T: They go down well, but I have to say that our older stuff like songs off ‘Hollow Crown’ go down alright. ‘Daybreaker’ songs probably go down the best. I think because the album is so new that people are still getting to know it. I’m sure in a year’s time, when we play them, they will be the highlights of the set.
HTF: ‘Lost Forever // Lost Together’ has been successful in Germany and Belgium so far, which is great, but who has the best crowds out of those and the UK?
T: For us, the UK. Germany is great though. The album is actually higher in the charts in Sweden, Australia and Canada than it is in the UK. We’ve just been like what the fuck! Touring the UK now feels like an extra victory for us because our last tour was our smallest for ages. Tickets didn’t sell well and there wasn’t much of an atmosphere, so this has been really satisfying. We have had a bad taste in our mouths about touring the UK as we thought everyone was over us, but it has been really cool.
HTF: You have publicly declared that you don’t like playing songs from ‘The Here And Now.’ Is that the case now, or have you made peace?
T: I have made peace with most of the album, the song Heartburn is a disgrace and I fucking hate it. We will probably end up playing Learn To Live, it has had a lot of views on Youtube, I am sure it will go down well, but I don’t really like it. We are doing Day In Day Out that’s a great one with the crowd, even though I don’t think physically it is an amazing song, the crowd makes it worth playing.
HTF: What track means the most to you to play live?
T: It’s a funny one, I have been feeling this tour is Alpha Omega. It has been really popular and it has always been a track I have rated for us, even though I hate playing it because it is really hard. It is one of the first songs I wrote lyrics for. I don’t think it ever connected with people, but on this tour it has been bananas, so I’ve enjoyed playing it.
HTF: You guys have been around for a decade, it seems like you have quite a bit left to give, what have you got left in the tank?
T: I don’t know. I didn’t know this was going to happen and that we were going to have a successful album. So you don’t know what’s going to happen next. We did ‘Hollow Crown,’ had some success, probably took it for granted and things went a bit off the road. We didn’t think it was ever going to get back, never mind be bigger than it has ever been. It is important to enjoy what we have now and not worry too much about the future. We will just try and better ourselves as a band and make a better record than this one. It isn’t going to be easy.
HTF: What bands are you digging at the moment?
T: Always Stray From The Path and Northlane to be honest. In terms of heavy music they are the best. I bought the new Behemoth album I really enjoyed it and the Bombay Bicycle Club’s latest release.
Interviewer: Antoine Omisore
