They’ve kept us waiting for three long years since their far-out debut Vessels, and now comes the second piece of the great WOLF & CUB puzzle – Science & Sorcery – a title most appropriate for the band’s sophomore album, as vocalist JOEL BYRNE tells NINA BERTOK.

"Well, science and sorcery are pretty much two different kinds of methods of achieving what is essentially the same thing. The way it relates to the album is both in terms of sound as well as the way we approached the record itself. On the one hand the album is a result of a lot of thinking and structure and theory, but on the other hand it’s also just as much about gut feeling and instinct based on what you sense sounds good. Another way of looking at Science & Sorcery is that our last album and this album are also very different in terms of their sound, yet essentially this is still the same band making the music."

Well, sort of. As of 2007, Wolf & Cub lost drummer Adam Edwards and found multi-instrumentalist Marvin Hammond – an addition Byrne refers to as a vital kick up the backside.

"Marv has rekindled the enthusiasm in a lot of ways. He’s made us realise how valuable the music can be. And that’s what makes him valuable to us, he makes us appreciate what we’re doing. He is also able to see what we’re doing from a different perspective, like, making us go, ‘wow, I never would have thought to do this or that, let’s try it’. On top of all that, he also brings to the band this enormous talent of not only being another drummer but a multi-instrumentalist who can add the saxophone, guitars, keyboards, horns – you name it – into the equation."

While the drummer at first served only as a temporary member during the band’s support slot for the Kaiser Chiefs, it didn’t take long for Wolf & Cub to recognise Hammond for the much-needed breath of fresh air that he was.

"The miscellaneous instruments and bits and pieces on this album just wouldn’t have come about if we hadn’t had his talent," Byrne states. "He played in a band in Adelaide called Artax Mission and even though we thought it would be great to get him into the band we knew that he was taken. When his band broke up, it was just a natural progression for him to join us."

Not that it was all as simple as Byrne makes it sound. By his own admission, following Edwards’ departure Wolf & Cub faced some serious concerns regarding the general band dynamic and the impact it may have on the ever-important follow-up album.

"It was a bit scary because we did consider the fact our sound may change without Adam, but I think we were wrong. Things turned out really well because even though Marv is still adapting to the way we work as a band, he’s brought so much knowledge with him. I think we were scared over nothing, really."

As expected, the band’s sophomore album Science & Sorcery does see Wolf & Cub take on a less rock-oriented and more electro-focused twist – a change Byrne claims is for the better.

"It’s a little bit different from Vessels, yes, but it’s not a massive departure because it’s still the same band so the core is still there. It’s easy to start getting worried when you speak to fans who really loved and appreciated Vessels and here you are about to release this sort of different album. When I say it’s ‘less rock’ I am very careful because what I really mean is that it’s not as much rock as the first one. Not that we’re trying to jump on the electro bandwagon either. Actually, I am very positive about this record, which is extremely rare for me to say because all of us are usually so self-deprecating that it can get quite nauseating. I’m surprising myself with how positive I am being about this album. I’m also very relieved that it’s finally done – that’s actually the first feeling that comes to mind when I think about this record. It was a long, drawn-out process."

Not to mention an "interesting" one, as Byrne recalls, half the reason being the choice of producer Chris Colonna of The Bumblebeez.

"He’s a weird choice, I know," Byrne laughs. "But if was for that very reason that we decided on him. It started out with like an off-hand comment by our manager and we were like, ‘yeah … no.’ We thought people would just assume we’re trying to make some electro attempt or something. But when we thought about it, it made sense. I can’t say that I agreed on absolutely everything with him but he definitely gave the album a great vibe. I guess the reason it’s taken so long to get the album together is because Chris still had his obligations with The Bumblebeez, I was living in Canberra, the band were in Adelaide and the place where we were recording the album was in Braidwood, New South Wales. I guess when you’re in that kind of circumstance where it takes a long time to put a record together you have that time to look at it way too closely and then you end up criticizing it. It’s done now and I’ll let people decide what they think from this point onwards."

Unsurprisingly, people are liking it. Having performed at this year’s V Festival alongside the likes of The Killers, Snow Patrol and Duffy, Wolf & Cub had the chance to finally road test the songs that had taken almost three years to assemble.

"We’re enjoying each other’s company on stage, which sometimes doesn’t happen," Byrne jokes. "We’ve already put about four or five new tracks into our set-list and there are another four that we need to sort out before we start touring the record. The tracks we’ve played live are coming off really well, though. We’re just happy if it sounds good, we’re not fazed by much else. We’ve played to hardly any people before and we’ve played to really big crowds, we’ve experienced both. If you can play to no-one then you can play to anyone – essentially, it’s all in up in your head."

With the UK having one of the bigger Wolf & Cub fan-bases, Byrne claims the band hopes to head back to Europe in the not-too-distant future.

"You know, all this talk of the global financial situation, I’d love to think that it’s had no effect on us but I think it has. Still, hopefully early next year we’ll be able to lock in an overseas tour. One of the best gigs that we’ve ever played was actually in this town in the UK called Bradford, which was like a sea shanty sort of town. When we got there it was a bit of a concern because it was this place near the sea and so it was a real fisherman’s type of bar, so we thought, ‘god, this isn’t going to go down well is it,’ but it was the complete opposite in the end. Actually, it was the best show we’ve ever done."

WOLF & CUB play the SoundLounge Thursday Jul 2; The Zoo Friday Jul 3; Noosa’s Woombye Hotel Saturday Jul 4; and the Great Northern Sunday Jul 5. SCIENCE & SORCERY is out now through Remote Control. www.myspace.com/wolfandcub

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