Longview do not believe in doing things gently. New on the scene, the band are pulling out all the stops to let the great British gig-goer know who they are and what they can do, writes Tim Hughes.

For frontman Rob McVey, the best way of doing that is touring. The band are on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, with 48 gigs in three months.

They have gigged Rob's native Winchester, into the depths of the West Country, up to the wilds of the Orkney Islands, and into Oxford, at the Zodiac earlier this month, supporting the Mull Historical Society. They are back at the venue on July 2.

Their last date was sandwiched between shows in Edinburgh and Leeds, which gives some idea of their hectic and erratic touring schedule.

Rob spoke to eMail from Liverpool's waterfront, ahead of the band's show at the city's university, which, in true Longview style, was between dates in distant Swindon and Bristol.

So why are they spending so much time on the road? "We want to tour and if people want to see us, we play!" he laughed.

"We have gone from Orkney to Swindon - which says it all. Swindon was brilliant. No-one plays there, and we thought nobody would come, but 150 kids turned up to see us on a Monday night.

"If you play London, they make you feel you should be grateful they came."

The band are drummer Mat Dabbs, bassist Aidan Banks and guitarist Doug Morch. They are looking forward to

returning to the Zodiac, especially as they will now be the main attraction.

Rob said: "Coming back is a good way of playing our own gig, and we hope people will come and see us again.

"When we are supporting, we get half-an-hour to play to the unconverted. With your own show, you play a longer set. You can breathe and the sound can breathe."

And letting their music 'breathe' is what they do best. Longview's music is thoughtful, powerful and from the heart. Think Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Coldplay.

"I remember seeing Radiohead at Southampton Guildhall when I was fifteen," says Rob. "They seemed to have the power of rock and the melancholy to go with it. The feeling that cuts you really deep. That's what I'm looking for."

And they show no sign of easing up in the near future: "We have played some venues five times. We are writing music that says something to people like us."

Which means they treat passing fads and trends with disdain.

"We don't try and project ourselves onto some kind of scene," he says. We write about British life. It's nostalgic and people can relate to it.

"We talk about secondary school comprehensives, going on the dole, getting a crap job and going to Cornwall in the summer. Things 20m other British people have done."

Perhaps the best way to understand Longview is through the band's name. Rob explains: "We were sitting around in the pub and wanted a name to write music. It seemed an emotive word. We like the idea of the 'thousand yard stare'.

Taking the long view also seems to be the attitude being taken by the band in their mellow, deceptively gentle assault on the music world.

But for all his softly-spoken, intelligent insight, Rob is deadly serious. He quotes his hero: "Bob Dylan said, if you haven't got anything pure and real to say, don't say anything."

Longview are supported by Saint Rose. Tickets are £5 in advance/ £6 on the door. Doors open at 7pm. Over-14s only. Box office 01865 420042.