Channelling euphoric, feel good indie pop, Dundee quartet Model Aeroplanes return to form with their new single, Lover.

Following on from their successful debut EP Something Like Heaven released on Island Records, the 4-piece make a welcome return into the spotlight.

Friends for life and band mates since they were 13 – Rory Fleming-Stewart, (Vocals, Guitar), Grant Irvine (Lead Guitar, vocals), Ben Buist (Bass) and Kieran Smith (drums, vocals) have achieved notable success for a band so young and their new single indicates an impressive progression.

New single, Lover is a surefire summer anthem, with its outright hedonistic melodic hooks, sky-scraping falsettos and catchy chorus; this is a dazzling re-emergence that will place the band firmly amongst their more established peers.

Lover was released in June 2017 via Spinnup (Universal Music).

In this interview spotlight, we chat with Model Aeroplanes about the newest project, influences, motivations and more.

Full Q&A along with links and a stream of Lover below.

Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?

Dive as deep as you can please. I think the style of music that we’re making now has been a strange but natural progression for us. Model Aeroplanes was born in 2013 as a pretty generic “Indie” band but since then we feel that the music’s drifted towards something that’s really our own thing and we’re excited to see where it takes us next.

We get bored with our work very quickly and I’m sure most people are the same but it’s been hugely important for us to keep moving, keep our minds fully open to new experiences and influences and to what they can offer us.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

We’ve been playing and releasing music together for around seven or eight years. It started with a couple of projects throughout high school that were so left of field that they would give you a bad neck but as Model Aeroplanes; around four and a half years.

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

We draw influence from a world of sweet ideas and music but when you’re in a studio, with people you enjoy hanging out with anything from a conversation to playing another song or style of music badly can trigger a creative hurricane. There’s a magic to jamming with your mates that can’t be explained.

Motivation wise, I think we and most other musicians would be lying if we said that people coming to shows, spinning you at parties, tweeting about you and completely investing in you emotionally wasn’t gratifying. It’s a huge thing. It gives you the opportunity to be the person that you idolised as a child or hormonal teenager, someone that’s way of life was once beyond your imagination and that had a massive impact on they way you developed as a human. It’s hard to stop pursuing that once you’ve had a taste of it. It feels sociopathic to say but it’s a powerful high to have that impact on a complete stranger.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

On this occasion no. Lover was very much a jam from the first riff; to recording it the next week. That really isn’t the way we usually work, at times we’re quite lethargic in the writing process but we felt an excitement with Lover that we hadn’t felt in a while. Lyrically it’s an attempt at being more honest and to tell more of a story than usual. I like using lyrics to tell someone how I feel or justifying a situation to myself whilst being able to say “It’s just a song” if someone were to ask.

What was the last song you listened to?

“Hot Thoughts” by Spoon. I was listening to the Adam Buxton podcast and they were being interviewed. That song came on a few minutes in and I thought my brain was going to slide out of my nose and join a nearby conga. It’s sick as fuck.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

There’s something to be said about the experience of playing either of the three. MP3s are easy, CDs are my childhood and Vinyl’s cool. I like to listen to vinyl ‘cause I don’t own a working record player, it’s great to see the artwork blown right up and there’s more of an incentive to listen to and appreciate a full album from start to finish.

At the end of the day a good song’s a good song and good production’s good production no matter what your chosen format is. No-one’s too good for a scratched CD that you found under the seat of your mum’s car.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Moralistically it’s tough. Artist obviously get the shitty end of the stick when it comes to streaming services but they tend to get the shitty end of anything that’s ever presented to them. People, including us, are complacent about music because of it’s accessibility.

Streaming’s a great way to reach new people and surely, because of these services, we must now listen to more music than ever before? The problem, however, is when your favourite, up and coming band don’t have the funds to get the bus to the studio or even stop by your hometown on tour… I’m a Spotify guy though ‘cause I love getting dem tunes queued up, hard, for the good of the sesh.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

I think the two biggest challenges for us at the moment are trying run a business that breaks even, in an industry run by and for oligarchs and being relevant at a time in which people have so much choice. Naturally, sometimes we’re busy and sometimes we’re not but people need constant digital stimulation to remember who you are.

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?

We’re just heading home from a sweet tour with ‘Hunter and the Bear’ and we’re organizing a UK tour for later in the year. It might coincide with some shiny, new releases.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc. for updates on music and life.

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

We hope we’ve been an interesting specimen.

Don’t take us too seriously, remember to wash behind your ears and if you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else?