How We Operate

after 1999’s Mercury Music Prize-winning ‘Bring It On’ and their first LP since ‘Split The Difference’ in 2004, ‘How We Operate’ is produced by Gil Norton – the band’s first outside producer - whose previous credits include The Pixies and The Foo Fighters. "I've been a crazy, huge Pixies fan my entire life, since I was thirteen," says guitarist Tom Gray. "As a creative partnership, and as friends, we had to regroup and make a career-defining record." So over a shared love of Everton football club, the album began.

Signed to Dave Matthew’s ATO Records in the states, ‘How We Operate’ is their fifth studio album and features 12 brand new songs all co-written by the band – Ian Ball (lead vocals, guitar), Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitar) Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboard) Paul Blackburn (bass) and Olly Peacock (drums). "The last album was pretty rocking, and reflected the live show a lot,” adds Ben Ottewell. “With this one, we wanted to focus on songs, melodies and words, rather than volume."

Album highlights include the energetic ‘Tear Your Love Apart’, the tour de force ‘Girlshapedlovedrug’ and the closing track ‘Don’t Make Me Laugh’ with its addictive country twang.

"There's always been a certain ragged glory to Gomez. ‘How We Operate’ retains and revitalizes that glory - and presents it in a more immediately gripping form. This is certainly the most cohesive record we've made," observes Ball. "And yet it remains stylistically genre-less." Which is to say, it's still brilliantly, unabashedly... Gomez.