Sam Herlihy and Simon Jones, respectively frontman and drummer of The Northwestern, are not ones to bow to convention. Having amassed considerable commercial and critical success with former outfit Hope Of The States -The Fly Magazine in particular hailing second album ‘Left' as the hands-down Album of the Year - what do they go and do? Why, dismantle the whole operation, of course. "We never set out to be a career band," Jones says by way of explanation, to which Herlihy elaborates: "We didn't want to sully the memory of that band by doing it half-arsed. Hope Of The States songs don't really work like that because they're built on this level of intensity and commitment that you can't do if you're not feeling it. You can't fake it." And so, from the embers of a still considerably hot fire rose The Northwestern, a pop-laced proposition that brings a whole different dimension to a superb songwriting prowess Herlihy clearly still possesses. With forthcoming AA sided single ‘All The Ones/Telephones', there's a tangible sense of rejuvenation and defiance that washes over you with baptismal purpose. "With this band, everything has become exciting again. We just lost that after a while with the other band, but now it just sounds like us as people and represents our situation. It feels like a new lease of life."