Rising out of the booming Birmingham band scene is Dumb, and while they’ve been time and time again aligned with contemporaries the likes of Peace and Jaws included, they’ll quickly tell you there’s more to their hometown than that. The kind of alternative these boys are offering up attempts to take a grittier clever to the well-trodden paths of college rock, catchy hooks dirtied by frontman Dylan Williams’ angsty snarls against a reeling, guitar heavy wedge of transatlantic sound. The band’s debut EP backs up what seems to have already been a pretty mega few months for these lads, and though guitarist and co-songwriter Tom Minchin tells us his finest moment yet involves heavy drinking and a Gallagher brother, there’s no doubt there’s some serious gold to come…

Tempe Nakiska: So how did you come to be known as Dumb?
Tom Minchin: We’ve all been friends since school and have dabbled in bands in the past. Most of the time we were just messing around though, not really taking it seriously. But in early 2013 we thought we should really give this band thing a crack and that’s how we became Dumb.

TN: Birmingham has become aligned with a pretty particular sound, and though it has to be said there’s some really great music coming out of there much of it has been pigeonholed. What do you think about the ‘scene’ right now?
TM: I think there are a handful of bands that are similar. For an outsider it may be easy to assume all bands from Birmingham sound like Peace or Jaws but when you look deeper I’d say there’s a lot more variety. We don’t take much notice of the Birmingham scene though. I think it’s too easy to pigeonhole bands because of where they’re from before actually listening to the music.

TN: What other bands would you recommend we check out?
TM: Troumaca are my favourite local band at the moment. They have a real cool sound that’s so fresh and original. We’ve done a couple of gigs with them and they always put on a great show. Top lads as well!

TN: How would you describe your own sound then?
TM: Our sound’s pretty raw, but there are still pop elements within the tunes. We love bands like The Clash and we always try and incorporate the grit that some of their records have into our own.

TN: What’s your process like when it comes to writing?
TM: A lot of the time songs will form from little things Dylan and I have made on acoustic guitars at home. However most of the writing goes on in the studio when we’re just messing around and jamming.

TN: Do you find that your environment has a big impact on your writing headspace or can you collectively shut off?
TM: A lot of the time its quite easy to block out the rest of the world whilst writing. It’s always really exciting when you start to develop new ideas in the practice room and you become so focused you can’t think about anything else.

TN: What about when it comes to recording? Have you ever taken time out or away in the country or the like to write or record?
TM: We always go in to record with a song already written. No matter what though you come out the other end with what feels like a fresh new song. In the studio it’s like you look at every part with a microscope. Some melodies don’t always work and will get taken away, and new layers you wouldn’t of thought of whilst performing the song get added.

TN: What’s the transition from smaller to bigger gigs been like?
TM: It shocked us how comfortable we were playing on bigger stages. It’s definitely addictive, the more big shows you play the more you want to play. But small shows are great as well. We did a show at the Sunflower Lounge for our EP launch where the audiences were pretty much forced on stage with us. A lot of knocked over microphone stands but it’s all good fun.

TN: Any nightmare gigs?
TM: Not as of yet. There have been a few where we’ve performed to empty room. But we don’t let it get to us.

TN: If you could support any band, from the past or the now, who would it be?
TM: It would be really fun playing at one of the early Clash or Sex Pistols gigs in the 70s just because they’re such legendary shows.

TN: Or if you could attend any gig from history?
TM: Maybe one of the gigs The Libertines did in their flat. It would be cool to see a band I love so much in such an intimate venue. I would love to go to Woodstock as well. If I had a time machine I would definitely give the Summer Of Love a visit.

TN: Finest or proudest moment as a band to date?
TM: We played charity gig at the Albert hall for The Brain Tumour Charity alongside people like Liam Gallagher, The Vaccines, New Order and The Charlatans. Liam Gallagher told me I had a drinking problem which was probably the proudest I’ve felt personally! The experience as a whole was just mind blowing and gave us a taste of what life is like for a successful band and definitely gave us a lot of motivation to work hard.

TN: How’s the balance, juggling music and other stuff?
TM: It takes up most of our time and we treat it as if it were our full time job. But it’s something we all love to do so it never feels like a task. It’s very social. Some of the best nights out I’ve had have been after we’ve played a gig. It’s always work before play with us though.

Where do you see yourselves in ten years?
I don’t really like to think that far into the future. Better to live for the moment. You tend to enjoy it more.

Dumb’s debut EP Chew Me Up, Spit Me Out is out now via Tip Top/One Beat