Last year was a pretty monumental one for the Yorkshire-born, London-based band Deadletter. It was marked by the dropping of their first album, Hysterical Strength — which was the result of several years of writing — and stepping out on a debut headline tour around the UK and Europe. The band aren’t resting on that, though — they’re all about evolution.

“It’s kind of like we’re growing a new skin,” Alfie Husband, the band’s drummer, explains over a chat in the HUNGER office. “ I think you can get sucked into a hole quite easily,” adds lead singer Zac Lawrence. “But you’re fortunate as a creative to have another thing in front of you.”

That “thing” in front of Deadletter is their second album, which they are in the process of whittling down to a suitable number of tracks. And with a new sax player, Nathan Pigott, on the scene, the band — the rest of whom have all been mates since they were kids — might have something of a new sound this time round.

“I don’t think the word punk necessarily fi ts with the sound we make any more,” bassist George Ullyott says. “The second album, you might say it’s indie.” Either way, the guys are keen to emphasise that Deadletter — which also includes Sam Jones and Will King on guitar — is the amalgamation of six equal parts. “We’ve never been a group who’s said, ‘Let’s put this member off to the side,’” Lawrence affirms. “Everyone is as involved as everyone else.”

So with album two coming soon, Lawrence, Husband and Ullyott sit down to talk some more about Hysterical Strength, the band’s headline tour and the all-important next step in Deadletter’s evolution.

Scarlett Coughlan: How would you guys describe your sound?

Zac Lawrence: I think it’s difficult for anyone to define their own artistry, but I’d say the easiest way to describe our sound is it’s an amalgamation of six different people’s tastes coming together.

George Ullyott: We don’t go, “Right, here we go, we’re making a post-punk album” — it’s just what happens when the six of us get in a room together. And maybe what’s affecting us at that time affects how it sounds too.

SC: What’s your philosophy as a band?

Alfie Husband: One of our philosophies is just playing live as much as possible. It’s the most powerful way to experience music — there’s a connection that you experience on the stage that you miss out on when you’re recording.

SC: What drives you to create music?

ZL: I have an infatuation with being able to write about whatever I want to. There’s no topic I would deem to be off limits or too mundane. And, especially when you’re creative, I don’t think mundanity exists — I find that really exciting.

SC: So how do you feel about Hysterical Strength being out in the world?

AH: It feels quite freeing. A lot of the music had been written over the course of three or four years and now everything going towards the second one is brand new. So it feels good to have shed the first load — it’s kind of like we’re growing a new skin.

SC: Did you have any standout moments during the creation process?

AH: We did some photos in Grosmont, near Whitby, with a photographer called Ian Macdonald, which was a really special thing to do because all three of us have been looking at his photos since we were kids — he's an old friend of my dad's — so it was cool to finally collaborate.

SC: Did you learn anything from the first album that you're taking into the second one?

GU: I think the thing I've personally learnt is, with a full album, you've got a lot more time to get your point across and there's not such a rush to cram everything in.

ZL: I think, as well, there's a common theme of people regarding their first album as the most important thing they'll ever do, and actually I just don't agree. As an artist, the most important thing is whatever's in front of you in that moment. That's why you have bands who create ninth albums, which maybe leaves their fan base like, "What the hell is this?", but

SC: And you went on tour last year — how was that?

GU: That was the best time of my life. I mean the van obviously sucks a lot, and the beds change every night, but it's the most free I've ever been.

AH: It's one of those where you're in a cab in the middle of Zagreb, being like, "Oh yeah, we're playing this festival," and the cab driver's like, "Oh my God, everyone knows that festival." We've never really had that before.

ZL: The thing that I've definitely learnt when it comes to touring is that, whatever's in front of me I'm happy to do. I'm not personally going to be devastated when I've got to go home. When the last day comes, you've got to accept it, enjoy what's behind you and settle back into your life.

SC: What can you tell us about the next album?

AH: We've got about 18 songs and we've got to get it down to 12.

GU: We're all really excited. We've written it all recently and it all feels very coherent. Everybody's had their complete input on album two. So if as a unit we end up all being as happy as we currently are with it, I think it's probably going to be exciting for other people as well.

PHOTOGRAPHER Jack Chipper
STYLIST Adele Cany
WRITER Scarlett Coughlan
GROOMER Charlie Fitzjohn at W Mgmt using MAC, SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL and GHD PHOTOGRAPHER’S
ASSISTANTS Francesca Albarosa, Alex Sievers
FASHION ASSISTANT Hannah Colthorpe