English art-rockers These New Puritans have returned with their third album, Field Of Reeds, an experimental effort which represents their most ambitious record to date. Even by their own standards, the group have pushed the envelope sonically this time round, and Field Of Reeds has consequently proved quite divisive, with most critics either loving or hating it.
“I’m extremely happy with this record,” insists These New Puritans’ affable drummer, George Barnett. “At one point, I was a bit like, ‘What the fuck?’ I was coming in and out of the studio, so I’d go away and learn my drum parts, but hearing those sections and hearing the finished recording, there was a massive difference. There were so many people involved.”
Field Of Reeds arrives a full three-and-a-half years after TNP’s previous album, Hidden, and there were some notable moments of upheaval for the band in the interim, including record label legal wranglings and the departure of keyboard-player Sophie Sleigh- Johnson. The elaborate textures of the album also meant it wasn’t a record they bashed out in a couple of weeks, with the group utilising string and woodwind players, a children’s choir, jazz singer Elisa Rodrigues and – most oddly – a hawk.
“I had to leave after about an hour,” George recalls of the hawk’s involvement. “We thought [producer] Graham Sutton was having a heart-attack. To explain the morning, we’re in the middle of the countryside, and I had to drive Elisa to the airport. That was the first thing going on, and the second was that two country guys – who didn’t really know anything about us and thought it was a funny day out – arrived at the studio with the hawk. At the same time, anambulance was pulling in and we thought Graham was having a cardiac arrest.
“It’s funny in retrospect, but at the time I was freaking out, sending messages to Elisa trying to explain the situation. In the end, Graham found himself morphined up in the back of the ambulance, having a great time floating off down the country lanes. Then a few hours later, he was back and I disappeared. It was an interesting morning. One thing I’d say though – people pick up on this point about the hawk, like it’s this funny conceptual Pink Floyd bollocks. We didn’t even really want that in the press release, and it isn’t the story here. The story is that this is an album that demands your attention, and I suppose that goes against the flow in today’s climate.”
George himself has an interesting back story, having worked for designer Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme in Paris for a couple years, following a chance meeting when he was 18. When Slimane left Dior Homme, Barnett moved to London to record TNP’s debut album, with his brother Jack fronting the group. However, George still models occasionally and has worked for the likes of Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci.
“Yeah, I still have to pay the bills unfortunately,” he nods. “Some of it’s great, and I’ve met some wonderful people, but some of it’s absolute dog shit. It pays the bills. The last record didn’t really give us any money, so I paid for the videos. I was working for the art of the band, and that’s the way it was. I don’t get anything out of it other than money, do you know what I mean? It’s the sort of thing that’s like yesterday’s newspaper, it’s forgotten. People only remember you for what you’re good at today, not yesterday.”

Field Of Reeds is out now on Infectious Music.