After a bit of radio silence, The Pigeon Detectives, return with ‘Broken Glances’ – the follow up to 2013’s ‘We Met At Sea’.

When you hear the name The Pigeon Detectives, you might remember the era of British Indie that dominated the airwaves around the same time that Skins was *the* series to be watching.

Bassist Dave Best chatted with GoldenPlec about what they have been up to, their most recent album and how they have managed to outlast the majority of their peers.

The Pigeon Detectives have taken a bit of time off and they have used that time to just rehearse, and keep each other company, “It seems like we have been away for ages. We have been holed up in a rehearsal studio, slowly driving each other insane for the last couple of years," jokes Best "This album needed to be considered and not rushed, so we didn't put a deadline on its delivery - we just let it come as and when it came.”

Even though they weren’t in a rush to get back, they’re happy to be returning, “It feels great. We see each other all the time, so it wasn't a case of 'getting back together'. We're just trading our local pub for a tour bus, really. In terms of having new music out, well that feels awesome. We're at that exciting stage at the moment when people are finally getting to hear the stuff, so we're eagerly awaiting the feedback from the fans. This is what we are most comfortable doing,” he says, adding, “The hangovers are a bit harsher these days, but other than that, it's all good.

When it came around to writing and recording 'Broken Glances' The Pigeon Detectives attempted to keep things interesting by conciously challenging themselves, “We put more pressure on ourselves than ever before to step outside our comfort zone.” Says Best, “We chose a producer in Rich Formby who would challenge us as musicians and also challenge the perception of what a Pigeon Detectives album is. So the recording process involved lots of contemplation, and experimentation and breaking songs down and rebuilding them. The results will shock some people, but I think it will be in a great way.”

'Broken Glances' features some pretty eye catching artwork with cartoon bombs dropping. It deviates from the established perception of the band being light and fluffy. “The cover art was illustrated by a friend of ours, called Tone, who a street artist. His stuff is dotted around back alleys and office walls in cities throughout the UK and we love the combination of street art and pop art that he creates. We gave him a little brief and just told him to run with it. We love it too.”

With 'Broken Glances' release just days away (February 24th), Best is beginning to get feel like a child on Christmas Eve. “There's always a nervous excitement around Pigeon's HQ as an album is about to drop. No one can tell how it's going to be received, but we're really happy with it, so that's enough for us.”

Any such nerves should be put slightly at ease by the fact that the critical and fan reaction to 'Broken Glances' singles so far has been good. “The reception so far has been overwhelmingly positive. People seem to be buying into the new direction. The songs we have showcased so far from the album are the ones we felt gave a fair representation of what to expect from Broken Glances as a whole.”

The first single, Enemy Lines, was released in January, “We chose Enemy Lines to be a single because it has some great light and shade in it, which we thought was the perfect palette cleanser for this album. And the chorus is massive! The video was pitched to us with similar themes of darkness and light - with a moody, smoky setting, offset with beams of light... we thought it fit the song perfectly.”

The Pigeon Detectives' website states that the album is “unapologetic in its’ effort to be different, but at the same time it’s a respectful nod and dip of the cap to all our fans that have supported us”, by this, Best explains, they mean that the album doesn’t pander to anyone.

“A lot of bands write albums with radio play in mind, or with critics in mind and we think that approach is a slippery slope. We wrote this album for us and from a place deep within us. In a way it's our most personal album and we want leave it at pure as possible. In the nicest way possible, we didn't want to play to people's preconceptions of what one of our albums should be. We just wrote and recorded what we felt was right.” So although you’re going to be getting something new, it shouldn’t scare off old fans.

The band have also reunited with some old team mates, returning to their roots by resigning with Dance To The Radio, having released their pevious album ‘We Met At Sea’ through Cooking Vinyl.

And Best says returning to the label has given them back control, “DTTR is home for us. With this album being so different to anything we have done before, we really wanted to have full control of everything to do with its release. With our own label we can steer it in the direction which we feel befits it, whilst answering to no-one. It's a really precious album to us and we just wanted to make sure we steer the ship. “

So with over ten years on the clock and five albums in the bank how does Best explain The Pigeon Detectives' durability in an industry that eats bands for dinner?

“We always say that the key to our longevity is our friendship. We have been friends since we were toddlers and band or no band, that will never change. We get on like any old mates get on - we just have a few more crazy stories than most.”

However, Best acknowledges that being a Pigeon Detective has not always been easy. “We've certainly gotten older, I'm not sure if we're much wiser. I suppose the challenges are just in keeping yourselves enjoying it. This industry can beat you down, and your ears can be bent by people who are trying to push their own agenda, and we have always had a philosophy of "We'll just listen to what we want to do and trust our guts"... We're five albums in, so I guess it's worked OK so far.”

Best also acknowledge that being a musician in the modern world has changed significantly since their 2007 debut 'Wait For Me' was released and that sometimes reluctantly they've had to embrace things they feel uncomfortable with. “We rebelled against streaming for a few years, but there's no running away from it. You either sink, or swim. You have to try your best to stay afloat amidst illegal downloading and Spotify paying you basically nothing for your music. The important thing to remember is that young bands won't be able to make it if people don't invest in their local music scenes and support them. So if we want to save the world from more Justin Biebers, we just need to be a little more conscious of the fact that music is a precious thing and worth fighting for.“

So, aside from taking down the Biebs, what else is in store for The Pigeon Detectives? “Our plan for 2017 is simple. Just enjoy it. We're not going to get bogged down by the little things that sometimes can get to you in this industry - we're just going to enjoy the ride and have a laugh together. “

The Pigeon Detectives ‘Broken Glances’ is out on Feb 24 and the band play Whelan's on March 2