In 2007 the British pop industry was presented with a jaw-droppingly brilliant album full of hit singles, clever lyrics, irresistable hooks and slick, radio-friendly production called 'Galore'. The British public took one listen to Dragonette's debut, and then inexplicably hurried off to buy another copy of Mika's album instead.But now the Canadian four-piece are back with new album 'Fixin To Thrill' and are ready for a second bite at the pop cherry with an album full of hit singles, clever - oh hang on, PLEASE SEE ABOVE. Have Dragonette braced themselves for another go at us unpredictable Brits? We spoke to singer Martina Sorbara and asked her some questions to this effect.
Hello Martina. Did it seem an awful lot of hassle to have moved from Canada to London to record and promote 'Galore' only for it to get huge back in Canada and end up a bit of a shambles, sales-wise, in the UK?
No way. Moving to London was the beginning of our great adventure. Who knows what would (or wouldn't) have happened if we hadn't left home for London?
Why do you think the album failed when it was released in the UK?
I think our UK label had a very different idea of who/what Dragonette was to what we envisioned. Perhaps our opposing visions tugged against each other and that probably confused people - I don't know. But all that is so far out of our minds now, we're all really happy with the new album, with BOTH albums, and just generally appreciating where we are and the clearer picture we have of things.
Was it a conscious decision to ditch the lyrics on infidelity and being something of a sexual predator?
No. Just like with Galore, I wrote the lyrics for this album based on what I was feeling and thinking about at the time. In both cases, the stories that came out are only based on real life, but embellished for the sake of a better story.
Are people scared of a sexually confident woman?
Not scared, I'd say. I think people behave differently around a sexually confident woman.
So what else is has changed for Dragonette, in your time away from the UK?
We have a new guitar player, Chris Huggett - which I'd say was the most obvious thing. Less obvious, I think, is the difference in how we feel about our band. We're not having to live up to any hype about us any more, which has made us much more relaxed now.
In what ways is the 'Fixin' To Thrill' album different than 'Galore'?
It's tougher sonically but softer emotionally.
How many potential hit singles do you think you have on the new record?
Twelve. Hahaha!
Are you hesitant about releasing 'Fixin To Thrill' in Britain?
No. We're ready.
Do you worry about finding a tarantula in your bananas?
It's just one if my irrational fears. how did you know?!
There's a Cherry character referenced in 'Pick Up The Phone', and in the 'Take It Like A Man' video. Is she a Martina alter ego?
Cherry, in 'Pick Up The Phone' is me I guess, but a more innocent me. I had never consciously tied that into the Take It Like A Man character but I like where you're going with this and I'm inclined to agree.
What's your favourite tinned food?
Tuna. Red kidney beans. Chick peas. They're even better together.
You've been tossing out free downloads like there's no tomorrow in the lead up to the album's release. Are we to assume that you are not of the opinion that the internet and file-sharing is killing the music industry?
It's definitely killing some parts of the music industry, but it's feeding others. I have a feeling we're in between two business models of music, where one is definitely on its last legs, and the other has yet to really present itself.
Is the Canadian music industry struggling as badly as it is in the UK?
Yes. But it was never as strong so it has less of a distance to fall.
We heard 'I Get Around' feature prominently on the soundtrack to Sorority Row. What were your thoughts on the film?
I haven't seen it. The title is, of course, intriguing. My feeling in general about our tracks in films, is that I still feel flattered that someone thought of us for their film. It's different for adverts obviously - I can imagine a scenario where there is no amount flattery that would convince me to associate our music with a certain product.
What happens to Dragonette if the new album goes belly-up?
We keep on going. We write music that makes us happy and right now, enough people care about what we're doing that we feel excited to play the songs and feel pumped about what the next batch might sound like. It's also the only thing any of us really knows what to do!
So long as it doesn't sound anything like the current Sugababes or Robbie Williams stuff, we'll be pumped too. Thank you very much, Martina from Dragonette.
'Fixin To Thrill' is released in the UK on 23 October 2009. Click here to buy from Play.com. Really, this time, you NEED to buy it.
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