Storming into the majority our lives in 2012 after their No.8 hit'Ho Hey' was featured in an TV ad(thanks Bing!), folk band The Lumineers are back and rocking it. So much so they entered straight in at No.1 on theOfficial UK Albums Chart last week with new LP 'Cleopatra'.

But whilea No.1 is freaking exciting,speaking to band member Jeremiah a couple of daysbefore they topped the chart, it's not the be-all and end-all as we talk new music,unsuspecting success and...Woody Harrelson (..!)in our exclusive interview.

'Cleopatra'was nearly four years in the making - was their any pressure to get it out sooner?

"There was pressure with the first album, I think we always put pressure on ourselves and I think that, to be fair, it didn't take four years but it felt like it did to the public. We toured for about three and a half years with the first album until December 2014 and then in January 2015, me and the singer, Wes, wrote it in about six months and then you get it recorded and mixed, mastered, it was on my phone I think on October 1st believe it or not and now here we are a few days after it's released, six months later. So it took a while and I think that we wanted to make sure that when we got off the road that we released something that we felt good about as opposed to trying to capitalise on the success and the momentum. I think that, even though it took four years, I'd rather it be something great and something we're proud of as opposed to just shoving it out half-baked and you know, I think that would be disappointing for everybody, especially us because we have to tour with it for so long."

Is there a message or main theme you're trying to get across?

"I think that the song writing process took us in different musical directions and we didn't really shy away from that necessarily, we weren't afraid of that, certain songs are really different and certain songs would have never been on the first album. The last two songs in particular, 'My Eyes' into an instrumental 'Patience' that never would have been on the first album, I feel like we had more confidencewith this one and more like 'let's just do this and see what the fans think', it feels more plugged in. I think the first one had this, I hate this word 'Americana'acoustic vibe. This one feels more plugged in and less so like 'Americana' for lack of a better word."

In the UK at least, the more indie genres are more successful in the albums charts - do you see yourselves as album act or would you still like to have another 'Ho Hey' moment?

"I guess it doesn't matter, I mean I feel like 'Ho Hey' and 'Stubborn Love' were two big songs and I think any artist wants to be paid attention to.I think if they tell you different they're lying, but I think the success of 'Ho Hey' was never intended nor was it predicted by us. I thought other songs would be bigger honestly.

"'Ho Hey' never stood out as 'the'song and I think for us, we write music in terms of albums and when we get to play in places like Japan, Australia, Mexico City whatever...we had a show in Mexico City actually and people were chanting 'Big Parade' which was the weirdest song to chant of all the songs on the album but it was really cool that they were really hungry for that, such a deep cut.

"From a charts perspective it felt like 'Ho Hey' eclipsed everything, but when we play live people sing the words to all the songs and keeping up with the charts isn't our forte nor is it our desire. If we're on there I think that's great but we certainly don't try and write music for that."

Your press releases describe you guys as enigmatic, and for a certain generation, people don't know you by name but as soon as you play them a song they're like 'oh yeah I like them' - is that a conscious decision on your part not to play the media game and focus more on the music?

"I don't think we're interesting enough to be celebrities, or in the lime light, I don't think we have what it takes to be that sort of figure, I think that we let the music speak a lot louder than the personalities. We're not like Pete Doherty, we try to be wild and eccentric in our work and music and not off the stage."

I guess you're in the great position of not being recognised in the street?

"Yeah, well if I wear this [points to his braces and trilby hat!] I'm asking for it. If I'm at home in Denver and I wear a hat I think no-one knows what we look like."

Do you ever get mistaken for anyone else?

"Yeah, Woody Harrelson a lot. I just ordered breakfast in a New York City cafe, a little bakery, and she was like, 'do you know who you look like?' and I was like 'yeah, Woody Harrelson' and she was like 'I actually thought you were him'. I had a winter coat on, it was really cold, and a winter hat. She was like 'I was nervous because I actually thought you were Woody Harrelson' which is funny because the drummer of Red Hot Chilli Peppers gets it with Will Ferrell a lot, they're like identical."

You're on a sell-out tour and you're the 101st in the world on Spotify! Did you ever think your music would reach so many people around the world?

"No I don't think so, I thought it would reach some people but not this. We thought we would sell maybe 30,000 records in the states and it's almost sold 3 million in the world which is pretty crazy. I sound like I didn't believe in us, I just believed in it on much smaller terms, I thought we'd be a slow burn kind of band, like Dr. Dog, they're a great band from the US and, as un-insulting as I can be, they don't really have hits but after a while you listen to their albums and they're like The Beatles or something, they're so prolific and profound in their music but no-one really knows them in the grand scheme of things.

"I thought we'd be more akin to that, maybe by the fourth album we would have broke, but for this to happen is pretty wild. With that said me and Wes have been writing music for 11 years so, by the time the first album came out I was seven years into it. I'm glad something happened, otherwise what was all that time spent doing? What was it all meant for?"

How would you describe a Lumineers gig?

"I dunno, I guess I would imagine a great experience, I hope that you'd feel something different to another band. I've seen some shows that it's so clear that you're an audience member and they're the band, like you're sh*t and they're the rockstars. I've had that experience and been turned off by shows and then there's been other shows that have really brought you in somehow and I think for us if we're in a small place we try and make it feel big and if we're in a big place we try and make it feel intimate to the top row of shitty seats. That's something we strive for, I don't know if it's always working but if you've ever seen a show in an arena and you have bad seats, I've been to plenty of those, some people can reach you and some people can't."

Have you had any famous faces in the crowd at one of your gigs? Who's a big fan that you know of?

"I dunno, Barack Obama spotified us, he put 'Stubborn Love' on a playlist which was cool. Wayne Rooney has come to two shows - he came to one in Manchester or Liverpool, one of those shows, if was really cool though, he came backstage and said 'hi' and got us to sign one of his guitars, he also came to a festival in Dubai and he was backstage hanging out with us, he's a nice guy."

Who are 'you' a big fan of?

"I think Radiohead I'm fairly obsessed with, Arcade Fire, I've been slowly getting really into them, like finally realising how great they are. I like Beethoven a lot, especially his sonatas on the piano and then I like a lot of music that was written for movies."

What's the craziest thing that's ever happened at one of your gigs?

"There were a funny couple of shows where we would go out into the crowd and perform with these wireless mics and at least a couple of times, the guy Stealth, the piano player, he would go out with his accordion and then he would try to get back on stage, even with a Lumineers pass and they would not let him on so he would have to, sort of, argue and be like 'I'm in the band' and they'd be like 'yeah right buddy, get out of here!'"

Do you ever listen to your own music to relax?! Be honest.

"I think that when the album was still fresh in October it was nice to confirm that it still sounded good before we released it. As far as relaxing, it's a stressful thing to listen to our music now, it reminds me of work, it reminds me of being in the studio and listening to a song 10,000 times. It feels too close, maybe in ten years time."

How long will we wait for the next album?

"Haha, it depends on the tour. It's hard to think of the next one, I've had inklings when I've been messing around on the piano or a guitar where I'm like, 'oh this could go on the next album' and it's kind of like, 'don't think about the next album', I don't know how long it will take. I imagine quicker because on the first tour we kept saying yes to stuff, we were like a fresh, young band and people were excited to have us, now we're just another band in the grand scheme of things."

Any more film songs in the works?

"Yeah we might, I don't want to say it because I don't know if it's set in stone yet."

Any dream franchises you'd love to be part of? Or directors you want to work with?

"That's a good question. I dunno, I think it would be cool, did you ever see 'Her', Arcade Fire did the whole soundtrack and I'm so jealous to be honest, I heard the movie and I was like 'ah I bet it's this one guy I know, this guy Jon Brion', then when I heard it was Arcade Fire I was like 'f**k that's so cool' they don't need to have anymore street creed now they've done 'Her', like a whole movie."