BREAKING up is hard to do. Just ask Jacob Graham, member of American indie pop outfit The Drums.

Reports of the band being on the brink of splitting up last June were overblown, he says, but not altogether untrue.

"I think the nature of this band [means] we're always kind of on the verge of breaking up," Graham reveals. "All of us are unsatisfied with the situation for various reasons."

In Graham's case it's the constant touring that he dislikes.

"For the most part, if the band broke up tomorrow I would never leave this country again. [But] despite my hating to travel I'm very grateful that we have the opportunity to tour. It means people are still interested in us."

Speaking on the phone from New York, Graham talks about the band's coming visit to Australia for the St Jerome's Laneway Festival next month.

"We're excited to come back. We've had a good time every time we've gone there."

The band will have the chance to show off the sounds of its second album Portamento, the much anticipated follow-up to the hugely successful Summertime.

Graham says when the first album was released there was little expectation, and understandably nothing to live up to. With Portamento the ballpark had changed.

"It's been a little difficult," Graham concedes when asked about dealing with the hype surrounding the band, "especially because of that word, 'hype'. We're hearing it a lot."

Despite the pressures, Graham says the band's never been too concerned with what people think and has focused on making music they love.

While Summertime pumped out breezy summery tunes that The Drums has become known for, Portamento is much darker, more intricate.

Asked if he believes the band is making music for the now, or music that will last, Graham says it's a subject he often ponders.

"I do think that our Summertime EP and first album, it was a case of right place at the right time ... the climate was right.

"We're very mindful of the way our music will be perceived 20 years from now."

So exactly how do you avoid being a flash in the pan? According to Graham, it's the way the band operates, keeping things simple and organic, avoiding studios, and never working with a producer. Its latest album was recorded in singer Jonathan Pierce's kitchen for the most part. "We're so particular of our sound and so protective of it that we can't fathom the idea of anyone else touching it."