Musically Pivot can be likened to those Magic Eye posters. At first things don’t make sense, but as you squint and stare through the image, a rich three-dimensional picture appears.

Having jetted off to Europe this March after signing to legendary UK label Warp Records, drummer Laurence Pike took some time to talk to FL about their impending return to our shores to launch their new album O Soundtrack My Heart as well as supporting the overwhelming Icelandic force that is Sigur Ros.

“I’m really excited actually, it’s going to be huge,” Pike enthuses. “It’s a great way to come home. Like, how many times do you get to say, ‘Hey mum, I’m going to be back in town, come see me play at the Hordern’? We’re really looking forward to the album launch as well. I’m hoping the gig in Sydney will be a big party, with all of our old friends, and all of our new friends. Everyone can come – we can all come down and party in one big sweaty heap.”

The Sydney album launch (held on August 8) sees the boys heading back to The Oxford Art Factory, where they played their farewell concert to a sold-out audience. “Yeah, we sold it out, so we’re hoping we’ll have a similar response for the album launch, and the tickets have been selling really well so it’s looking good. We’re doing it at Oxford Arts again. They like us there and they’re always asking us to come back, so we thought we’ll do another one there.”

“Yeah the album’s out,” he says with a tone of relief, “and it’s coming out I think on August the 9th in Australia. It’s been done and dusted for a while now. We’re really excited about people actually hearing it, cos we finished it like a year ago, and we’ve been waiting…So yeah, you can imagine.”

Formed in 1999, Pivot has been through a lot of changes before emerging as the powerhouse three-piece they are today. “Originally we were a five-piece for our first album, and then it became a three-piece after that. But it’s a bit complicated. Dave [Miller] – who came into the band in 2006 and is now on laptop – was living in London, so there was a period in the band where Richard [Laurence’s brother and guitarist] and I were playing gigs as a two-piece around Sydney. I think it confused people a lot. But thankfully we are all together now and doing gigs as the proper band. Hopefully by the end of this tour and this album we will have sorted out what’s fucking going on with the band,” he laughs.

Pivot have managed the difficult task of succeeding while sticking to their – let’s face it – mind-jarring mix of serene electronica and frenzied math-rock. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to sound like woe is me, but we’ve always done our own sort of thing. We’ve never really been part of a particular scene. We’ve always drifted between doing gigs in the electronic scene and gigs in the indie scene. But it’s funny, because going to other towns like Melbourne we’ve found we didn’t really fit in anywhere in particular there either. That’s kind of cool though. We’ve always accepted that and just thought, well, let’s just do what we do and if we do it well we’ll find an audience for it. And that seems to be happening slowly but surely.”

“But it’s strange, there’s another side to it,” Pike continues. “I think that the fact we don’t fit in is one of the things that we have going for us. And the evidence is there – coming to Europe and playing in different countries, to different people and lots of different ages groups as well, all responding to the music. We’ve had a lot of older music fans, like guys in their 40s, coming up who were obviously listening to a lot of the shit we’ve listened to as influences, and it resonates with them. But then we get a lot of indie kids who are impressed, because there’s a lot of stuff they’ve never heard before, or there are things that are familiar to them that excites them as well.”

The move to London has seen Pivot reach a horde of new fans, the boys having played a string of shows across the UK and Europe. “We’ve ended up playing probably over 30 shows in the last three months. We’ve been getting some good responses from audiences and press alike, so things couldn’t have gone better in that respect. I don’t know if I’m any authority, but you’ve just got to do it [tour overseas]. The bottom line is you’re not going to make any money on your first tour. You’re always going to lose money on your first tour – it’s all about doing it regularly and building momentum. Momentum’s the word – you’ve just got to be brave and do it.”

Pivot is proof positive that you don’t have to alter your sound to succeed, and that dedication to a musical vision can pay off in the long run. And they’ve got their plate piled high with musical meat, as Laurence tells me. “From September onwards we’ve got something like two months of solid dates, so I haven’t even seen that schedule yet,” he groans. “I think I’m going to cry when I do. It should be really hard but at the moment I’m looking forward to it.”

Who said success is always fun?

Pivot support Sigur Ros at their sold-out Sydney and Melbourne shows. They’re also playing a string of headline dates:

31 Jul – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane
7 Aug – East Brunswick Club Hotel, Melbourne
8 Aug – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
9 Aug – The Bakery – Artrage Complex, Perth