Dib Dib, Dob Dob: I Was A Cub Scout

The new album is finished and Will’s giddy with the outcome: “We’re really happy with it... there are about nine new songs and we’ve included a couple we’ve put out before like ‘Pink Squares’ and ‘Our Smallest Adventures’ ” The boys teamed up with producer Hugh Padham, who has worked with artists as diverse as Kate Bush and McFly but Will admits that he was more excited about working with Genesis’s producer than for the ‘McFly Factor’: “We picked Hugh because we wanted our record to sound epic”. Celebrity cameos are also a go go; Sam from Youth Movies makes a horn/trumpet appearance; and both Sarah from One Toy Soldier and the cast of the punk rock outfit that is Tonight is Goodbye provide sporadic backing vocals.

The name of the album is now decided, going with a lyric absolved from inclusion on the final product, ‘I want you to know there is hope’. “We were talking about everything that had been going on for the last couple of months and everything that was happening in the next few months and the word, that we felt summed up how we felt, was hope.” The boys have boasted a decent following, which is perhaps surprising since both members hail from the wilderness that is Nottinghamshire. “You kind of take it for granted that you have 200 people at each of your shows. We’re quite happy to stay away from the London hipster scene. It is flattering that there is so much attention on us. People are saying that we’re a really cool band. Of course there are others who probably hate us but we’re probably always going to get that.”

They are an unlikely duo to find inspiration in pop punk but it appears to be the case. “Todd and I are both fans of Jimmy Eat World! The day before New Years’ Eve, we’re doing a Blink 182 cover set for one of our friend’s birthdays. Tonight is Goodbye are going to do New Found Glory and Dividing the Line are playing Less than Jake’s songs.” Kill the Arcade are also rumoured to be moonlighting as Brand New. On the pop punk obsession, apparently Hayley Williams checked Will out at Download, “I didn’t see it unfortunately! I do really like Paramore though… Riot has some really good pop songs on it.” Have the boys ever gone fanboyish on meeting any of their pop punk idols? “Walter Schreifels (from Rival Schools) was playing a gig with us; half way through our set he was singing along to our songs and put his thumbs up - that was cool. Todd got star struck once when he met someone he thought was Brand New but wasn’t. That was funny.”

For the foreseeable future, I Was a Cub Scout will be supporting ¡Forward Russia! and Minus the Bear. The eagerly anticipated album is scheduled for release in early 2008.