The name Alvarez Kings doesn’t sound very British, but the band is definitely representative of royalty, judging by the way homies across the Atlantic have received their music. The band’s song “No Resolve” was named Single of The Year by BBC Radio Sheffield; they’ve performed at the Isle of Wight and O2 Wireless and sold out shows in famous London venues.

After touring Europe, Canada and playing SXSW and CMJ, the quartet embarked on the Vans Warped Tour this summer and became known Stateside for losing their singer Simon to border guards while on tour, as televised on Fuse TV. The band is currently promoting its latest set, EP Fear To Feel. Check out the lyric video of “Tell Tale Heart,” which premieres exclusively on Myspace today.

Hometown: Rotherham and Barnsley, United Kingdom

Homebase: Sheffield, London, Ascot and Rotherham.

How did you all meet?

Sean Parkin: Some might say that the band was formed in the womb. Simon and Paul, being brothers and having the same parents, have known each other their whole lives and started playing music together from an early age. Through a series of circumstances, they stumbled across me and Rich and then the band became what it is today. Having had a few line-up changes over the years due to various other commitments, Alvarez Kings are finally in a position where everyone is focused and driven to accomplish the same goals.

Why are you called Alvarez Kings?

Paul Thompson: We were going through a Sopranos stage, watching the shows every week. We got into the Italian culture thing researching on the internet as you do. Then Alvarez Kings popped up which was, apparently, a mafia gang in the 50’s. It sounded kinda cool and confident.

Sean: Looking back on it now it has more of a Spanish sound to it rather than Italian!

Tell us about the song "Tell Tale Heart," whose video you're releasing today. It seems deeply personal.

Simon Thompson: Everything I write is deeply personal. I write about love and loss because these are the things that everyone can relate to and therefore become more emotionally invested in the music we write.

Is that also why your album is called Fear to Feel?

Simon: The title Fear To Feel refers to being afraid to show your feelings and to do so would invite vulnerability. Apply this to a relationship and it becomes very personal.

What were the themes you were working on when you were working on the EP?

Paul: Sean, our guitarist, produced most of the EP and it was a pretty time consuming and at times frustrating process.

Simon: It was a brand new approach to recording with a range of timbres we had never used before such as stings, brass and synth so we faced challenges along the way.

Rich Walker: In the past our songs were written with just the four of us in an ensemble rehearsal. Most of the writing for this record was done in a recording studio.

You were on reality TV for Fuse...what was that like?

Paul: It was a really strange time for us. We were in the middle of a really grueling tour and we had just lost Simon.

Rich: Rich: Simon got stuck at the Canadian border and we lost him for 2 weeks whilst on our first Warped Tour. We carried on the tour having guest vocalists from other bands learning our songs and filling in for him.

Paul: Fuse were doing a behind-the-scenes of Vans Warped Tour, so naturally our story ending up becoming one of the main angles of the whole series.

Sean: They would film us everyday documenting us losing Simon [up] to when we eventually got him back. They captured the struggles and us rehearsing with guest singers to fill in for Simon.

Rich: Overall it made for great TV and [it was] something we really enjoyed doing.

Simon: It has definitely had an impact on being more recognizable over in the States.

What influenced you to be musicians when you were growing up?

Paul: My dad was really into rock & roll music from the ‘60s. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones. Not a bad soundtrack to grow up to in our younger years. He was never musically inclined but encouraged it. So me and Simon first started in brass bands at our school St. Bernards in Rotherham.

Simon: It was when we first heard The Strokes in college that we put down the brass and picked up guitars.

Rich: My dad fronted an Irish punk band and was always drawn to the drummer in that band. The rest is history.

Sean: Music has always been in my family. Both my dad and uncle were in fairly successful bands in their younger days.

What are you listening to now that’s influenced your style?

Paul: Influences always bleed through in bands especially when you’re touring on the road with a band for weeks on end. At the moment we are really into the Local Natives, Miike Snow, The Maccabees, Delta Spirit, Bring Me The Horizon and The Tragic Thrills.

If you were to describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you before, what would you say?

Simon: There are rock and indie elements and there is a strong thread of pop running throughout our music.

Paul: It’s also important that our music has a progressive element to it. It’s a nice juxtaposition to find that balance between pop and progressive. It’s catchy but at the same it challenges the listener.

Do you have areas of expertise that aren’t related to music?

Sean: I have a passion for mixology. I love making cocktails and coming up with new recipes. I actually used to teach classes back in the day!

Paul: I love a competitive game of Heads Up! to kill the hours when traveling on the road. It can get out of hand pretty quickly though.

What's the most challenging thing about being musicians in 2015?

Simon: The hardest part right now is making our careers financially feasible. We have worked so hard to get to where we wanted to be and this year has seen the fruition of this. We got signed to a major, toured with some big artists but we're still at that stage of being an up-and-coming band with no real revenue stream as of yet so paying the bills back home is really difficult.