The shows go on for Preston's Population Four

Population Four recorded This Town Will Drag You Down themselves

They've had a gruelling six months on the road, but Preston's Population Four have still managed to record a new EP.

The follow up to their 2009 EP, entitled This Town Will Drag You Down, is due out on the 4 May 2010.

The latest offering from the former winners of the Lancashire Evening Post's Battle of the Bands has a harder edge from their previous releases.

Rick says: "We've still kept elements of our punk/rock sound but we feel it's a much more mature record."

Proud

The band recorded the four track EP themselves after working on demos at Anchor Studios then it was mixed and mastered at Vinyl Studio in Bury.

"It's a product we're really proud of," says Rick who fronts Population Four.

The compilation is all about change and branching out. The opening track Kill Your Friends is about the fickleness of the music industry and how hard it is to break into.

It was originally inspired by a book of the same name by John Niven about a young A&R man during the Britpop era.

We Are Not The Same is about two people sorting out their lives while the third track Nomads is a warts and all account of band life.

"It's about us: a group of friends and a band working towards the same goal with the long drives, lack of sleep and struggling to find the rent."

Hectic

The title track is about their home city and inspired by graffiti on the wall near UCLan. It's not an anti-Preston song insists Rick. "We don't hate Preston; we like it here.

"It's how being stuck in the same place doing the same things can start to drag you down as a person and as a group."

The band who headlined this year's Weekend Warm Up Festival in Penwortham are prepared for a hectic year of shows and promoting their new EP.

"It's going to mean more hard work and many more miles on the road but playing music is what we love doing. It's just who we are."

This Town Will Drag You Down will be launched at a special gig on 4 May 2010 at the Mad Ferret, Preston.