Cheatahs change their spots: “It’s like throwing paint at a canvas and then scraping a lot of stuff back.”

In the new issue of DIY, out this Friday 6th November, Cheatahs invite DIY into their studio to talk the reinvention that’s part and parcel of their 4-star rated new album ‘Mythologies’.

A kaleidoscopic record, it’s packed full of playful ideas and a brave new step. “We looked to bands that inspire us,” explains guitarist James Wignall, “and they didn’t just find themselves only operating in one area or one genre. For me, a band like No Age – though there’s not comparison between us – in terms of their output they do everything from ambient dreamscapes to full-on DIY punk. That’s quite inspiring – bands that just do whatever they want, and it kind of legitimised what we were doing in a way.

“But reduction is as much of a key to songwriting as throwing everything in. It’s not a maximalist record – as much stuff on there as there is, we’ve taken a lot of stuff away. It’s like throwing paint at a canvas and then scraping a lot of stuff back.”

“You should see how many versions of songs there are!” laughs frontman Nathan Hewitt.

“It’s the best thing when a song actually arrives fully formed,” Dean Reid, the band’s bassist, admits, “and it does happen once in a while. Some of them went through so many versions and such a journey.”

“Which is the nature of four songwriters in a band, all pitching in and all saying ‘I like this’ or ‘I don’t like this’,” Nathan continues, “it’s not just as simple as one person saying ‘this is the song, learn it’ and then we record it.”

Read the full interview in the November issue of DIY, out Friday 6th November - pre-order a copy below.