It's Drugstore in the Baggage again, this time when Drew talked to them at the Wolverhampton Varsity in November.

It has been some time since Drugstore released their beautiful debut album with its glut of fine singles. In the last year and a half there has only been the Injection EP to show for an alleged session for a new album - so where have they been? "Well, we toured for about a year and a half so we wanted a break," explains Isabel, "the record company pushed us straight into the studio when we had done promoting the first album but it just wasn't happening. We needed time off to come up with some new songs and something slightly different to before."

That time off to think about how a new record might sound seems to have paid dividends - as demonstrated by new single Mondo Cane. This new one is a bit of a pop stormer really, with the departures from the old sound not really detracting from that trademark Drugstore style.

One thing that is immediately noticeable is the more full sound on the record, compared to the spacious bare sound of old. This is due in no small part to the addition of a cellist to the band. Daron takes up the story of how three became four, "We were doing demos in a cottage in Norfolk somewhere and decided it wasn't really happening. We decided we wanted a cello player, then had this big bust up and we all left and went home and then we got a cello player. We had a few actually - we had the guy from the Auteurs and a guy from My Life Story and we argued with all of them and now we have Ian." An interesting development in the make up of a band, but why a cello player in such a guitar based band? "We were toying with the idea of a second guitarist," explains Isabel, "but we thought we should explore the cello because it can sound like guitars anyway, or lots of other things, and a thousand other bands already have two guitars."

So, you can expect the album to sound a little different, "It was recorded in Spain and just needs mixing. There's cello, horns, a Mexican band... it's got the whole lot - but not in the same way as a lot of Britpop bands are using string sections because we sort of avoided that." Drugstore, you see, are not in the business of sounds for the sake of sounds. If it needs it they will know and if not then it is unlikely to be there.

This is probably part of the philosophy behind their extensive array of covers - both live and on record - indeed, Daron claims that, "We take the songs and get all the best bits - throw away the bits they don't need - and turn them into better pop songs really..." This may sound a little egotistical (consider the songs here - Radiohead's Black Star; The Flaming Lips' She Don't Use Jelly; The Tindersticks' Patchwork....) but their point is that they love to play great songs, twist them a little and stamp them with that Drugstore feeling. Daron seeks to explain himself, "But really, when you hear a great song you just want to play it to enjoy it even more", but Isabel is clearly having none of this pleasantry, "We just like to upset bands by seeing how much better we can do their songs." However, there is no denying that these covers are cool and Drugstore could easily get away with releasing an album of other people's songs, "That's for when we really run dry of ideas," counters Isabel, "maybe in a few years time when we need some money." At this point, Daron steps in to clarify the issue, "It would be nice to put out a covers album with a proper album. That way we could do it without using it as a stopgap."

Anyway, records aside, the laws of probability suggest that you have seen Drugstore play live at one point or another in your life - especially if you happen to have been to a festival recently. Isabel offers her excuses for having played nearly every one here since that first album came out, "We are invited to do those things and it's so hard to turn them down because it's so much fun. We get so looked after, we get to hang out with a lot of bands and it's just such a buzz being there."

This string of successful appearances, along with a huge list of successful supports on all the coolest tours going, should have really catapulted Drusgtore into Big Time, California by now but their success seems to have been limited to indie circles and those in the know. The band are almost ready to lynch me on the suggestion that they aren't that big but are pacified by the suggestion that they are about to make the next step from their relative underground hugeness, "It's the way we've gone about our music - we haven't gone out and followed a pop recipe. Anyone can do that and then it's just about who is better at following the recipe. We've written our songs our own way and when success happens it does happen. It can't be forced or it won't be worthwhile. Now our songs are getting better and we will be able to say that we've earned our place through touring and putting out records that we think are good and winning a huge underground following." Well Isabel, these ears certainly will not be arguing when the success Drugstore deserves finally arrives and we hope to be there watching you on your headlining stadium tour...

Drugstore were talking to Drew, in November 1996.