You can never really predict how the fans are going to react to a major line-up change. Fortunately for UK – œsquelch pop’ four-piece Metronomy, theirs seemed to have turned out quite well.

When bass/keys player Gabriel Stebbing unexpectedly quit back in April to head up new summery guitar pop band, Your Twenties, remaining members Oscar Cash and Joseph Mount were left somewhat in the lurch with tour and festival dates looming.

“The thing is, it’s absolutely fine. It’s a shame because for us it’s always been more of an interest than an upset,” frontman Mount says of Stebbing’s sudden departure.

“I’d heard the demos he’d done and I’d always said to him, – œYou’re going to want to do your own thing at some point and that’s cool.’ But then as soon as it happened it was like a shock and we already had all these festivals booked – we even had Parklife booked back then – and instantly I was like, – œRight, we’re going to have to do this and this and this…’ It was all a bit of a panic really.”

But peel away the initial panic and there’s of course a silver lining – this one woven together with the kind of opportunity that comes from the token “good looking one” having left the band. “I guess he had that kind of reputation,” Mount sighs facetiously. “I never really saw what the appeal was; maybe he had a certain charm. But he was always destined to do his own thing. I suppose now if girls want to like someone from the band they’ve got no choice, they’re going to have to choose one of us. But really, Anna is the good-looking one now.”

So Stebbing was replaced with the pretty drummer Anna Prior. Those of us who saw her perform on Lightspeed Champion’s tour last year would’ve probably already fallen in love. Also new to the line-up is bassist Gbenga – œBenga’ Adelekan (not to be confused with the British dubstep producer of the same name).

Without wanting to render myself a traitor to my gender, I did have to ask if having a girl infiltrate their ranks had any affect on the dynamic of the band. “You’d think so,” Mount replies, “but the thing is, if you’re a female musician – and this isn’t my opinion, it’s just something you become aware of – it’s unusual that you’d come across many girls in that world that you have to act differently around just because they’re girls. So in Anna’s case, instead of us having to tone ourselves down, it can sometimes be the other way around. In the past she’s been in the company of rude men, so she can give as good as she gets. But she is an amazing drummer; it’s just nice to be able to have her contributing.”

Where better than the festival circuit to successfully gauge the reactions of their fans? As it turns out, Metronomy have never had a better response, a combination surely of the well-received Benga and Anna, and last year’s innovative sophomore album, Nights Out, an off-beat ode to those mediocre nights out that for whatever reason fall desperately short of our grand expectations.

“It’s been great. Last weekend was the Leeds festival so I’m actually staying with my parents at the moment, which has been, you know…” Mount trails off dramatically. “Nah it’s alright, they always treat me like a king. And at Reading this year we played on a much bigger stage than we’ve ever played before. And the really nice thing about it this time round is the amount of people that now know the songs. You work really hard trying to promote your stuff, and the only time you really know how many people are into it and love the songs is when they’re singing along to them. Even if they just know one song, it looks amazing to see it on their faces.”

Having already released one EP post-Stebbing, Not Made for Love is filled with those signature stripped-down, other-wordly Metronomy bleats and Mount’s politely-articulated vocals. The release suggests that things are very much on track as they prepare to release their third full-length by Christmas. With so much new material on the way, it seems fairly unlikely that they’ll be revisiting any of their old singles. That’s just as well, as Mount very hesitantly describes the experience of recently reshooting a video clip for 2007’s Radio Ladio, Metronomy’s dark, jolty answer to the child-choir synth-pop anthems du jour.

“It was a bit of a nightmare,” he tells me, sounding awfully unsure of himself as he divulges the secrets behind the rather disappointing repurposing of the original clip. “I guess I can say this: I’m not really sure what the chances are of it getting back to the people involved, but it ended up being a bit complicated because the director was actually going out with my ex-girlfriend, unbeknownst to me at the time. So the whole thing was really timid and there wasn’t really much directing going on. It was just sort of weird. And we ended up with this video, which was like the third or fourth edit of what happened, and we thought it was going to be really different but it wasn’t. I actually preferred the old one.”

Moving hastily along, I ask him about their upcoming tour to Australia for Parklife in October. Having seen the three boys play on a tiny stage in Sydney last year, quite happy to dismantle their own gear after the show while a small handful of fans milled around angling quietly for autographs, their experience this year will likely be very different.

Mount is clearly quite excited about it. “Actually, this radio station over there, Triple J, running a competition so you can climb the Harbour Bridge with Metronomy, so we’re really looking forward to that. The last time we came to Australia – I’m not sure it’s a place that I would have ever travelled to without, you know, being paid to do it because it’s such a big investment – we had such an amazing time. We just had a BBQ on the beach and we were really lucky because last time the people that looked after us were really cool. We were just able to hand ourselves over to them, which is just the nicest thing you can do. You’d be like, – œYou suggest something, whatever, and I’ll come.’”

It’s that laidback optimism, together with their keen ear for a relentlessly catchy hook, which will no doubt see Metronomy courting some of the largest crowds at Parklife this October. Then it’s back to the studio – perhaps to write an album about all the nights that did live up to their expectations.

Metronomy play the national Parklife tour.

Sat 26th Sep – Botanic Gardens & Riverstage, Brisbane
Sun 27th Sep – Wellington Square, Perth
Sat 3rd Oct – Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
Sun 4th Oct – Kippax Lake, Moore Park, Sydney
Mon 5th Oct – Botanic Park, Adelaide