They’re dishing out something a little less cheesy, a little more believable )tit ul ilit- sr< <>ii(l.ii\ silent <• dial t onics like an all-too bi ltd respite lx-twern the high-mien Mly ( holds ol I Ml s lalesl alhuni. Stigma, swells a rising i hoi us ol hamiimu >us vi>■< es I )eep in form and I it h in units the methodii al ( hauls ,ue spell Minding |usi as this stirring sound nears its pinnai le though, a singularIs retogin/ able lone emerges Irom the vocal mass, desperate and defiant in 11' forceful pitarnation. I ime is what I want.” he sa\s hui du n lime inns out, and the hard edged rills ol luulal leallls leac It out to slap sou itghl in die face. We needed something in die i horns ol "Blue Highs") and I had this record ol Kulgar tan chants," Ian Dench, lead-gui i,nisi and songwriter for KMf. sass from the i o/v i onlines ol his l.reds hotel room '■"> I put dus ie<old on and just ran the ir.u k in see it anwhing sounded light al die beginning of dus record li til jx-itei dv widi the tr.u k — tx-Hei l in time, (hi let t in when we had no tesponsibihtles H was .ill difi gi .mil i vt iletneiU about ln'ing ill ■* band Stignui iv kind <>t dealing with what vit’ir Ih’I’Ii through ovei ihe Iasi two yraiv .mil bow it s bet ome a wav ol life In fait. I-\ll appears to take a bit of a del ensue stand against i ulii s who (In lied tin- instant applause showered on the band follow 111^ its fust I eic ase I o dm end. the i arrlulb i rafted souk* on SjigtH/i seise as answers meant to sili’iit r the still ski-pin a I purists ol alternative inusii Kven the album's less dun -subtle title pro sides .11 Iu<- in f Ml s opinion i«l ii' h i <'in i xiHiMiir in thr « motions .mil withering glare III thr mass • llltlirr spotlight "I jiin-n (thr n.mu' isj kind ill having U> lot' up tu |K*oplr s mist out rpt it ms uIhiiii tin hand." I trill It .Millltts Some |M'ii|)lr still s% t tic us i it I .in some shallow |)ll|l hand, they haven't Intent'll I Ml i i aimed down, see ond-itnt «■ iomul -i|>pi1 mi Ii i" studio tet Hiding, ton pled with .i mUt'li clearer nciini- ot its intended uiunu.iI duet turn, allowed thr band m exploit- tirrh thr Imtindless Inn its ol its Ntvlr while in Hiding Stigma I hr hand had all the nine H needed to finish choirs to mi Recall V care oMhe backprt kc ill the i hold i h.tngcs — .mil wr . thought. Slut, there’s tomclhlng going ■ in tic'11 So wr pm a straight down on dir tri old." It M ims lather obvious dial something definitely n going on heir, that these overnight British sensations haven’t ‘(tine lallen into tlie fortnu Ian void ol |Mi|>-<ontoiini tv that tempts so mans onr-hit wondei acts with Its mrsistihle appeal ot i hail topping sucres*. 1 M1. m fact, seems determined to shed its I op 10, New kids-on thr 1 lines lllix k image with a vengeance. As •he retiain ot Stigmas opening track goes, they’re here." and this time, they’ve got some thing to prove. "h Vs as a dillicult time writ ing the album because it was so self-conscious," Dench says. It vvas like, ’Who are we? What •tie wr doing?’ We had to just shrug oil the pressure to write another ’Un believable’ and do our own thing "I Die album] is kind of autobiographr eal in a way. Sthubrrt Ihp was done at a time itself, much ■■■■rVocaiist sX BpjfSIngs about love “^Royalty with a potso- * **^ Pfmart-ass swagger on sinple Kirtd. hook-laden songs lik# *Arlzona" and "Gettin^fhroWh/ v Samples of every pip-cultural phenomenon Iron Bulgaria* not con|| album’s M Stigmj EMr tor ot the | ■uabie" and ■Ilf as defir Bre one-hit B«0 Millar CXJH’I HIM 111 '■\nolhei problem with Sihubrrt l>ip w.o that we weir lushed in doing it, v»e wot ked with protlut ets and |ust didn’t have the confident e to stic k up lot out beliefs in some wavs." Deni h savs "It was a bll ut a coinpioinise Ihil on tins one. it’s like wr know how we want to sound now we’re (list cap luting that scut ol live energy “We re wcit k mg more as a band, and maturing, and we’re kind of gel ling into it more," he says dec isivcly. ‘We developed more control over this album. It s kind of like our first album; It (eels like out firs! album ’ Ironically, though, the band's staunch determination to gain critical and artistic approval may have alienated it It*nit an rvtrntial lr*gnifi«»f its 01 igtn.il bins thr Urm1*»|>|>n srt l think 1 the albumj threw some pro pit some < >f thr Irrli pirss that v»\ . < Hi, thrv (uinrd thru bac k on thru r\c itmg stul! and dies got old and Imting. " admits Ik'iu h with a hint ol droll British v»n asm “Hey, look, we go deeper than that. We’re authentic.” m his von r "Well, lair enough I guess some people Vslm liknl us bring .1 pop Irand ui wluinri ilon'l like us 10 develop 4K.IV tllilll ill.11 "So many rubbish songs go In nunilwi our In not u-allv .1 inommentlanon foi .1 song in Hu in nuinlx-r 011c ami lor a twin I In have immediate < hail mii 1 c« vviih mu kind ui background Some people milr vmi nil Ini dial, though Viibrlievablr was an rn rllrnl smig I bus despite 1 lie- obvious appeal id 1 Inn mug mil lmndlrvslv mlmln smuidmg singles, Item li [triilrw' I Ml wmilil linn h lathri rarn mu cess during the kmgri haul ui its 1 arcri "I don't alw.ivswanl 10 do dm 'heart ol the lop dung too mut li.” hr savs Ural mav mean giving up the mass we saw - it-on-M IV liilliiwmg o{ (am who 1 nine with bring at die lop ol die < harts with a song like "I nbrlievahle." But Deni h doesn't seem to mind, espei tally il the band makes 11seIf and its music a little more lielievable along the Kav. *11 there's anything we should steer clear of. it’s obvious single material,“ hr \avs emphatically, “'cause it dirrr's some thing se (eel uncomfortable with, it's a (oils uplirat |Mip record We just wanted to make a sort of statement: 'Hey. look, wr go deeper than that We're authentic." tl