Nigel Godrich says “natural forces” are working against project Ultraísta as second LP drops

Speaking to Best Fit, the band – who found themselves handing out anti-viral hand wipes at a press launch this Wednesday – say that this isn't the first time natural phenomena have threatened their promo runs.

“It is pretty fucking ironic that the last time we were promoting our album, there were hurricanes and all sorts of shit thrown at us,” explains Bettison. “And now we're releasing our second album in a global viral epidemic. I'm not sure who we pissed off along the way, who's put this weird spell on our band, or if it's some higher forces at work.”

“It'll be a plague of frogs next,” says Godrich whose upcoming US tour with Thom Yorke has just been cancelled. “When we toured before we found ourselves in New York in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.... And when we tried to tour the first time Joey's baby arrived prematurely, so our dates got cancelled.”

Despite the obstacles, the band are excited to unveil Sister, a follow up to 2012's self-titled debut. With Waronker based in LA and Godrich and Bettison in London, there are some “moving parts”, says Godrich. “Yes, there's lot of work involved, I mean there is – but we're friends, y'know. It's not like we're not seeing each other anyway. Joey and I did loads of other things together, three years of Atoms for Peace and the Roger Waters record. So this is something we're always talking about getting back to. And Laura and I spent a lot of time working together in London when Joey was in LA. So it's not an effort to get back together to do it.”

The new LP has been released with a string of interconnected promos, conceived and produced by the band themselves, and featuring all Bettison. For “Anybody”, the vocalist and producer volunteered to be smeared with rice, painted and daubed with googly eyes. “It wasn't so bad with everything going on my face," Bettinson explains. "It was Nigel's very-heavy handed attempt to take things off my face which was the most uncomfortable. He was exercising some of his demons on my poor face. Like, I was reminded of when my mum used to brush my hair as a kid and she'd always do it too roughly.”

“It was an imperative to get the paint off you because we were running out of hard disk space,” laughs Godrich. “I tell you what though, I felt so great afterwards I can't really explain it.”