New single takes you on a journey

Taking inspiration from the likes of the Gogol Bordello, Leonard Cohen and The Magnetic Fields, the release will take you on a “journey of second love, balmy summer evenings that never seem to end and characters that turn your world upside down”.

Lead singer Dominic Von Trapps is delighted at the prospect of it all - particularly as the single is a foretaste of the band’s debut album, The Tortoise, The Hare And The Hound which will be out in January.

Before that, another two singles will be released - all part of a carefully-produced plan for maximum impact.

“It sounds like January is a long time away, but then you realise you have got to get a move on, especially when you are thinking about videos for the singles.”

Sweet Sweet Lies are singers, songwriters and guitarists Dominic Von Trapp and Michael Hayes, assisted by Ken Box (piano), Deano Harrington (bass), Dan Brown (drums) and Kris Jones (trumpet).

The band were quickly recognised in Brighton as ones to watch, with word spreading, leading to invites to Glastonbury, The Isle Of Wight Festival and The Big Chill.

“Michael and I met at university in Brighton,” Dominic says. “We were studying music, and we just got on straight away. On the first day, Michael came back to mine after a lesson and starting playing some accordion on some of the tracks that I had done.

“We have had various members in the band since then, but this is the final line-up now, the one that we are proudest of.”

They know it’s a competitive world out there: “We have got an advantage and a disadvantage. We never concern ourselves much with fashion. We are really students of what we do. We concentrate totally on the song, spending hours and hours layering it - and all that counts in our favour because people seem to like what we do. But it goes against us in that we don’t fit a particular genre or particular style. We are just trying to pursue the perfect pop song.

“I mean pop in the widest sense of the word, pop in the way that The Smiths talked about pop music, having a great hook and lyrics that people will remember, lyrics that get stuck inside people’s heads. That’s got to be the core of any band.”

More details on www.myspace.com/sweetsweetliesmusic/music or www.somethingnothingrecords.co.uk.