When We Are Apart: Magistrates Talk of Their Comeback

Press the rewind button back to 2009 and  Magistrates were everywhere you turned. Their fun, contagious tracks such as 'Colour Coordination' and 'Goldlover' secured them a vast, loyal fan base and the accolade of the music press.Having been featured on the Samsung NME Radar Tour and supporting Blur twice on their historical comeback, the future seemed limitless for the Essex quartet.

Despite their position, Magistrates removed themselves from the public eye for four years. As 2013 drew to a close however, fans were treated with the news of a mini-gig to debut the release of two new singles 'When We Are Apart', which was recently awarded NME's 'Track Of The Week' and 'B.T.P.A'. They were back again! So what had happened between then and now? 'I don’t like to say 'back' as to be honest we never really went away.' Paul Usher tells me. 'In terms of shows and releases, yes we disappeared from the light, but Magistrates has always been constant and making music. It is just right now we feel we have something that we want to share. Always new ideas to the very large table we own however, it has always been like that, natural progression.'  One of the new ideas they have shared with us so far has been the hilarious video to 'When We Are Apart'.  making use of retro footage from 1980s  'Lonely Hearts' ads and clever lip syncing. So is the tongue-in-cheek video a sign of the direction they'll be heading in? 'It is a great video that was created by VH/YES. I don’t really see it as tongue in cheek, it is just a colour that represent a colour of the record. Nothing can stay the same colour all the time and it is important always see things through a spectrum. The album has many colours and I know that the videos will represent those.' 

With this comeback there seems to be much anticipation, will there be an album? What about a tour? 'I couldn't give you a date to be honest just yet.' In regards to album ' It is in the almost finished stage, expect a lot of hours and love and honesty put onto a record.' As for a tour 'I hope so. We are currently sorting all of that business out at the moment. Very keen to get back over to our European neighbours. To be honest we have always been a band that have a motto of, if you’ll have us, we’ll be there.'

Finally, did musical legend Damon Albarn share any of his wisdom for the band when they had toured together? 'I can’t say he did on those shows. We spent time in his studio a few months before those shows and learnt a lot about space in music and melody. It was a great to play with Blur as they are such a talented iconic band'

You can follow the magistrates on Twitter and Facebook. Catch them play at The Lexington, London on the 28th Feb Get your tickets here