"WE'RE in a good place now with The Answer," enthuses frontman Cormac Neeson of his band's collective state of mind following the release of their current LP, Solas – a record which finds the Co Down rock quartet expanding their sonic palate in hitherto unexplored directions.
"It kind of feels like we've opened up a whole new chapter of our career off the back of the new record," the singer continues.
This newfound confidence and contentment stems from the fact that Neeson and bandmates Micky Waters (bass), Paul Mahon (guitar) and James Heatley (drums) pushed themselves to take chances in the writing and recording of Solas – which, of course, is Irish for 'light'.
This 'anything goes' approach to their craft resulted in the realisation of strong, progressive sounding new songs like the folk-poppy ode to Ireland, In This Land (which is also their new single), Irish-language vocal-laced Battle Cry's samba band-enhanced poly-rhythmic groove, the Celtic rock Led Zeppelin-isms of the album's epic title track, anthemic choral folk rock ballad Thief of Light and the angsty bombast of their highly atmospheric number Beautiful World, co-written with Massive Attack producer Neil Davidge.
Yes, you read that correctly – 70s blues rock/hard rock loving throwbacks The Answer have been working with the man who helped birth the Bristolian trip hop combo's era-defining Mezzanine album.
If you didn't see that coming, you're not the only ones:
"A year and a half ago, if someone had suggested co-writing with a dude from Massive Attack I would have thought 'I would love that – but there's no way it's going to happen'," laughs Neeson, who pushes his distinctive rock vocals into sub-operatic territory for the occasion.
"That song is a great example of what this album was all about for The Answer. We were working with a guy who's a genius at adding ambient cinematic atmosphere to his music – and the fact that us as a rock and roll band were able to find a place within that world was exhilarating.
"For one reason or another, over the past 10 years I think we have been 'boxed in' a bit as a band in terms of how people on the outside perceive us. This time, we wanted to do something that would expand our horizons, so it was such a liberating feeling to be able to break out of that box."
Of course, while the album also features more traditional 'Answer-like' fare such as the peppy rocker Left Me Standing (though even here they throw in a curveball Police-esque break based around stadium/festival-friendly 'wow-oahs') the bluesy stomp of Demon Driven Man and catchy country rocking duet (with Fiona O'Kane) Real Life Dreamers, fans expecting a re-tread of the hard rocking sound Neeson and co forged on their 2006 debut Rise – which the band played live in its entirety last year to mark its 10th anniversary – may have been left somewhat bewildered by their first spin of Solas.
"It was a massive leap of faith for us to do a record as different as this one is compared to the rest of our back catalogue," the singer agrees.
"We've been together for over 15 years now and we've always lived on our passion and that feeling that we do what we do because we wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
"In order to continue in that direction, you need to evolve. You need to ensure that the music that you're making still has that raw passion and emotion.
"Solas was a challenge to make and we knew that it was going to impress people and p*** people off – that was all part of the fun.
"Five songs in, we could have lost our nerve – but we stuck to the plan and we're very happy with the result."
The band have enjoyed playing the new songs live on their recent co-headlining tour of England with unabashed hard rock dudes The Dead Daisies – which found them ignoring Rise entirely in favour of more recent material ("I know for a fact that some of their fans couldn't believe what they were seeing," chuckles Neeson of the reaction to their newest songs) – and are looking forward to bringing Solas to life in Dublin and Belfast this weekend.
"The Irish gigs are always a big deal for us," The Answer frontman says, "but with this record in particular there's much more of an 'Irish' slant to what we're doing.
"There's a lot of Irish instrumentation in our show now and there are songs on there that are clearly about where we come from, so to have the opportunity to play gigs in Belfast and Dublin is great.
"It's going to be really nerve-wracking because we want to get it right, but we're really looking forward to bringing this new version of The Answer home to a lot of people who will probably have been tracking our development over the past 15 years.
"I'm sure this record was as much of a surprise for them as it was for every other Answer fan out there.
"Right now, it feels like anything is possible for us."
The Answer, tonight, Academy 2, Dublin / Saturday February 25, The Limelight, Belfast (doors 7pm). Tickets via Ticketmaster outlets.
