Sorry for what?

LIVING in a house, in a very big house in this country hasn't been all fun, games and trillion selling albums for the Walkinstown band. But who cares? A House remain one of the most consistently interesting, challenging and rewarding Irish bands on the scene. One of the few surviving bands from the overheated, over blown "class of 86" era, they've had more than their fair share of record company stuff and nonsense to contend with over the years - they've been dropped twice - but they just seem to shrug their shoulders and head back into the studio to create more music.

The last time they were dropped (from Blanco Y Negro) they came back with the superb I Am The Greatest and now, having being dropped from Parlophone, they've hit back in similar style with No More Apologies - a slow burner of an album that is brimfull of top shines. "We always know when we're about to leave a record company, so it doesn't really bother us," says Fergal, guitarist with the band. "We've always got a home on Setanta Records, which is where we really belong anyway, so the only difference from going from a major to an indie is in terms of budgets for promo material and videos etc. We're not angry with Parlophone; in fact they were quite good to us, and we understand the decision they took, it was a purely business decision. But, you know, we've always seemed to work best in adversity."

"As it goes on, it doesn't get any easier," adds Dave Couse, singer and lyricist with the band. "Obviously we want to sell millions of records and have hits but what keeps us strong is that as a band, we have always had an innate belief in ourselves, a sort of `we don't need any help' attitude, so it doesn't really matter what label, indie or major, we are on."

No More Apologies, the band's fifth album, finds them in defiant form - but they are quick to point out that the words "downbeat" and "sad" do not, and should not, apply to their latest collection. "The title of the album is about me saying we've come this far and done all this and we don't feel we need to make any excuses to anybody or ourselves any more," says Dave. "I actually think this is a very positive album and I honestly believe it's better than I Am The Greatest. It is very much a grower though."

The last few A House albums have been produced by Edwyn Collins but this time out they got in Mike Hedges (Manic Street Preachers, among others) to twiddle the knobs. "We wanted a change, plus Edwyn is busy these days with his own career," says Dave, "I am very heartened by his success (the zillion selling single A Girl Like You, etc) because it shows that good songwriting will always come through, regardless of musical fashions. In that respect I really wonder how the British media are going to react to this album. It'll probably be `oh, them again' - but people like Edwyn have shown that it can be done independently of that whole scene."

Now a six piece, as opposed to the original three, the band reminded us just how good they are live at the recent Setanta night out in the Olympia when they played alongside Divine Comedy and The Frank and Walters (incidentally, in a spot of Setanta wife swopping, Dave produced The Frank and Walters' latest opus, Grand Parade, while previous Frank and Walters producers include Edwyn Collins - happy indie families and all of that).

Curiously the Olympia gig was their first hometown show in two years and just to illustrate how long ago it was, the support band at the time was Puppy Love Bomb. "We loved doing the Olympia. We're going to do it again soon," says Dave. So there you go, as they say themselves: there are no more sorrys, no more I used to be's and no more apologies. The album is out on Monday. It's great.