THINGS are looking good for Blackburn-based four-piece, New York Tourists, and this weekend the band are aiming to kickstart the year in earnest with a headline slot at a rare home town gig.

On Saturday night they play the Bureau, Centre for the Arts, supported by Ribble Valley-based Good Foxy, No Hot Ashes and Polar States.

“Things are going really well at the moment,” said NYT’s lead singer Gary Taylor. “We have just spent a few days recording at the Grand in Clitheroe and we have come away with two singles which we will be releasing later in the year.

“Both of them are perhaps a bit more upbeat than some of the songs we have written before. They have a happy and summery vibe to them.”

Gary said that the changing nature of the new songs reflects a band that’s more confident in itself.

“I think we have really started to find our own sound,” he said. “When we started out we sort of pigeon-holed ourselves as this kind of dirty rock and roll band but I think we’ve moved away from that.

“We’ve made a conscious effort to write more radio-friendly pop songs that are perfect for festivals. The first new song – Feels So Good – I think has my favourite lyrics of any song we’ve done. I think our songs are really beginning to represent who we are as people and that there’s some real experience showing through in the music now.”

Last year, New York Tourists released their debut album You and Me and played some of the biggest gigs of their career including supporting Status Quo and being asked to play Kendal Calling.

“It was a really great year,” said Gary, “but we are all determined to top it this year.

“We have all agreed that if things start to slip we will have to have serious words about it, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

As well as Gary on vocals and guitar, New York Tourists is made up of Carl Rutherford on guitar, drummer Joe Mooney and bassist Adrian McKenzie.

“We know that March and April will be very heavy gig-wise,” said Gary, “which can cause issues as we are all working but we will make it work.”

Saturday’s gig looks set to be a sell-out with only a limited number of tickets remaining.

“We don’t play that many local gigs,” said Gary, “so it’s going to be great to kickstart the year at the Bureau hopefully with a sell-out.”

The band will also be playing Manchester’s Deaf Institute on March 25 to coincide with the release of the new single, Feels So Good and a further single, Skinny Dipping, is likely to be released in time for the summer.

“I think it’s live where we have really progressed and won new fans,” said Gary, “and we have tried to get that live feeling into our recordings.”

So will the Bureau date be a chance for the ban d to let their hair down after spending time in the studio?

“We’re shooting a video the following morning so we’ll have to behave ourselves,” laughed Gary.

New York Tourists with Good Foxy, No Hot Ashes and Polar States, the Bureau Centre for the Arts, Blackburn, Saturday, February 11. Tickets from skiddle.com or in person from the Drummer’s Arms, Blackburn