Rated XXX

Okay, so this scribe usually balks when reading articles where the journalist has obviously asked a band to explain the origins of their name. But when the band name in question incorporates the acronym Bend Over Here It Comes Again? It would be rude not to go there. “Yeah, yeah,” the band's lead singer Dominic McGuinness enthuses, “that's what we're named after; my brother [Eugene, singer-songwriter and member of Miles Kane's touring band] suggested it to me… I think the idea with a band name is it either has to be so obvious that you can't believe it hasn't been taken yet, or it has to make you go, 'What was that? Who are they?' And I think Bohicas files into [the latter] 'cause nobody says 'Bohica', you know? Nobody really says it – unless you're a pilot, in the army or something like that 'cause I think it's military speak.” Before your mind gallivants through Wrongtown, McGuinness clarifies it's “literally, like: just prepare for the worst, it's about to get bad. My favourite word of it is 'Again' [laughs].”

There's also the potential for interesting search results when you Google the name of The Bohicas' first single: XXX. “I wanted to write a tune called XXX because it can mean a lotta things and it's a good thing to rhyme,” McGuinness explains. “And, I mean, there's still loads to explore. I wanna write the sequel to it, so just call it 'XXX2', like a film.” They could just add an extra 'X' to the title, although that would conjure up a certain beer brand that Australians only drink when desperate. “You don't drink Fosters either, do you?” McGuinness enquires. “On the TV ads you've got these two Australian guys sitting on a beach and the whole thing is, like: there'll be a British guy in a pub and he'll have a dilemma. He'll go, 'Oh, my mate's talking about something boring,' or whatever. And they'll call up these two Australian guys, and they'll give advice and just chuck in loads of typical Australian phrases like 'bonza' and stuff like that. We get this kind of cartoon vision of Australia – that's all we get, over here, of what Australia is. And, of course, it's gonna be a much more, you know, substantial and proper experience when we come over.”

Although The Bohicas are Essex lads, XXX was synced to Made In Chelsea and the particular scene the song plays over has McGuinness baffled. “There's an episode where they all go to Venice, in Italy. There's this decadent feast at this pristine table and there's all these elite, posh guys and girls eyeballing and screw-facing and all this kind of tense stuff. And it's [mimics XXX's bassline] doo-doo-doo-tish, doo-doo-doo-tish – it's going over the whole thing,” he laughs incredulously. “If it was gonna be in Made In Chelsea, I'd put it over them driving in a convertible or something like that.” Or a sex scene could work. “A sex scene, yeah! Exactly! But not, like, this toe-curlingly awkward, annoying footage of them just not talking to each other, you know? They were just sitting at a table looking at each other and just about to argue, but in a kinda posh way where they don't really embarrass themselves. You know, they don't really [laughs] invest in anything. It's kind of like, '[puts on his idea of a posh accent] Yep, oh, well I thought you were really out of order earlier on.' I mean, it's great that [our song's] on there, but I'd have preferred if it was on The Only Way Is Essex.”  

When asked what product he'd fancy The Bohicas endorsing, McGuinness struggles. “Um…” What about budgie smugglers? “Sorry? Budgie smugglers, hahahaha, yeah! Bohicas budgie smugglers. Exactly, that's it. I dunno, um, no idea… We haven't been offered anything like that yet, but there's a fine line. You've gotta see what your line is, what you wanna be associated with and what you don't wanna be associated with, I suppose.” McGuinness agrees that sometimes a product can become more synonymous with a band than their music: “And then you can be 'that band that were on a Vodafone ad'.”

After this interview, McGuinness is heading into the studio. It's the final day of recording for The Bohicas' first album. “We've recorded ten [songs] in this batch, but there's a previous seven so we'll have to decide on a track listing out of those 17 tunes,” he divulges. “But, I mean, there's a whole wealth of other stuff that got overlooked or just didn't really happen as immediately as these tunes did. So, you know, there's plenty of ammunition for future releases and stuff.” The band's ideal track number for their debut long-player is ten, so they have some culling to do. In the meantime, The Bohicas will release a self-titled EP in Australia and Japan, and McGuiness believes no surplus songs will go to waste: “I only just learnt the phrase a 'j-side', for Japan. Because, over in Japan, you have to give 'em different tunes and stuff.”