Formed in Enfield in late 2014, band Those Handsome Animals was born out of a frustration with modern music. Tired of hearing the same sounds over and over again, the group cobbled together a collection of influences long forgotten and set about creating something new.

They have just released debut EP Hits and we caught up with singer and guitarist Thomas D Millet to find out more.

Who are you and where are you from?

Gavin Hankins, Enfield, 26, guitars; Thomas Beavis, Lewisham, 22, bass; Thomas D Millett, Hackney 28, guitars and singing; and Gary Batt, Enfield 28, drums.

How did y’all meet?

Gary and I went to Edmonton County and Gavin went St Ignatius and we grew up in Enfield and started gigging there together.

Me and Gary have been in bands all of our adult life, in the early days we used to gig with Gavin’s band. When both of our bands met their timely demise, we joined forces with Beavis, who is half British and grew up in South Africa, gladly taking the last spot in the band.

What’s with the name?

It’s from a song called Slogans by a guy called Jeffery Lewis. I’m really into artists that put effort into their lyrics, Jeffery Lewis is a lyrical master, and this is my favourite song of his!

Who is the most handsome member of the band?

Depends on your type really, I think we have someone to cater for everyone’s tastes

What do you sound like?

A David Grey cover band that has gone just terribly wrong.

Who or what has influenced your music?

Instead of collecting a list of artists as influences, we have just songs. Bits of music that have interested us in one way or another. Some songs that have helped mould us have been Wings – Jet, The Cars – Just What I Needed, random bits of Status Quo and The Bachman-Turner Overdrive – You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet. Basically a lot of Dad rock.

What influenced song Home Pt.1?

Home Pt.1 is about the housing crisis. I love living in London, but I will never be able to afford to buy here, regardless of how hard I work. The whole thing seems to have gone mental, with a flat in Highbury and Islington costing the same as a castle in Scotland. The whole songs sums up my frustration attached to this.

Is it all sex, drugs and rock ‘n' roll?

I would like to say yes, but in reality it’s more like work nine till five, beers and band practice! I actually quite like that though, we’re just four normal guys making music we like. We’re not rock 'n' roll at all.

Favourite gig to date?

We’ve only done two so far, at the legendary Buffalo Bar in Highbury (sadly now closed down) and Surya in Kings Cross, but they were amazing to play. When we play, we really go for it, throwing ourselves around and really get into it. We leave the stage dripping but that crowd gets their money's worth.

What‘s the most embarrassing thing to have happened to you on stage?

When Gary and me was about 17 in our first band I tried some crowd participation at a gig in Bush Hill park. I screamed “all the ladies say yeah” a question that was met with complete silence (much to the enjoyment of the other bands there). I’ve never done any crowd participation since, I don’t care where we end up playing, I’m never doing it again!

Do you practice your stage poses in the mirror?

I can only speak for myself, but no. Well not anymore… maybe when I was 17 because girls would watch. You had to look good. These days I don’t care, I just do what I want; people seem to like it, so that’s always good.

How important is hair when you’re in a band?

When your young it’s like the defining characteristic of a band, but as you get older you lose that. We just concentrate on our songs and hope that will get us along further than having a good quiff!

Do you have day jobs?

Sadly, we have to maintain jobs to keep us going, Gavin and Tom work together in finance, Gary is a wildly talented graphic designer and I work in marketing.

Who is the brains of the operation?

I write the songs initially, I have an idea in my head of how they’ll sound. But as I then take them in to the guys, each member will add their own bits and the song shifts usually into something better than what I’d previously imagined.

Would you rather be described as sweet or mental?

I think we’re sweet offstage, bloody mental onstage. If I had to choose I would say mental… only because it’s the more extreme of the two!

Where can people hear your music?

You can listen to us over and over again on Soundcloud and watch our video for Doing Fine on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-jHrVVBnQ

soundcloud.com/those-handsome-animals

https://www.facebook.com/thosehandsomeanimals