The Thrills [ tickets ]' lead singer, Conor Deasy, was cautiously optimistic when his band's debut album, "So Much for the City," hit stores in the U.S.

He and his bandmates hoped that Americans would catch on to the Irish band's sunny riffs and melancholy lyrics, but they didn't expect to be so graciously embraced.

"It's just kind of a nice, little, cool start over here," Deasy said in a recent telephone interview. "I've grown up with so many bands I love that could never get arrested over here. I never expected too much. I kind of came here pessimistic, in a good way."

Growing up, Deasy--who is joined in the band by guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ryan, drummer Ben Carrigan, keyboardist Kevin Horan and vocalist/guitarist Padraic McMahon--listened to Blur and Pulp, and didn't quite understand why those groups never caught on across the pond

"They're quintessential English pop bands," Deasy said. "Apart from Coldplay and Radiohead--and some kind of ironic new metal outfits--here haven't been that many cool bands that broke through over here despite their success at home. I guess I always resigned myself to the fact that trying to get attention over here … it was a real uphill battle. We came over here with that real underdog mentality, I guess."

It's worked out well, however, for The Thrills. Perhaps it's because so much of the album reflects American culture--Beach Boys-like harmonies and lush melodies lay over a bed of '70s-influenced pop rock.

Deasy talked to liveDaily about "So Much for the City," the misconceptions surrounding its release, and a forthcoming album scheduled for release early next year.

liveDaily: Why do you think you've been able to break through to U.S. audiences?

Conor Deasy: I don't know, really. I think we find it kind of funny that every interview we do, we get asked about Irish guys with an American-sounding record. I don't know. To me, ["So Much for the City" is] a mixture of things. I think it's kind of like a lazy journalist [viewpoint], a bit trite. It's maybe a story, but we never saw it as too much of a big deal. Often [when you're in a band], you have an extremely skewed perception of something that you're extremely close to.

Do you think you have a very American-sounding album?

No, I think it's a mixture of things. On top of that, I find it strange, when you've only got one record out and people think that that record defines everything about you as a musician and a band. It's rather frustrating because you want to try other things. We just recorded our new record. We're very excited about it. We're seeing it as a step on. It's very strange about the first record. That's all people have to reference about you. It's up to you, whether you're going to shake up people's perceptions. It doesn't really bother me. It's not exactly some radical, breaking news that the media has a tendency to typecast bands, or anyone really. You kind of accept your fate because you've seen it before and get on with it.

How does your new album compare to "So Much for the City," and who produced it?

Dave Sardy produced it in L.A. Can't go wrong with a guy who's produced Johnny Cash and Marilyn Manson. I think [the new album's] great. I'm really excited about it. It's different from the first record. It's a step on, I think. A lot of bands, in the last few years, have released good first albums and haven't really stepped up to the challenge on the second one. [Our new album] doesn't really sound like a record people are making quite now. It's tougher, but it's also quite beautiful as well. It's a nice kind of mixture. It's a little more ambiguous as well. It hasn't been mixed yet, so it's kind of hard to talk about.

You mentioned that a lot of journalists tend to stereotype you. Do you think that journalists have overplayed the fact that a trip to California inspired "So Much for the City"?

Um, yeah. For starters, to me it really isn't a record about California. When I think of the record, it's off in Dublin, feeling really depressed. I think of practice at a s---ty rehearsal room with the rain pouring down. Those songs are our ways of picking us up because we were kind of miserable. We were dropped by our label. And the towns are put [in the songs] as a way of escapism, as opposed to documenting little tales about what happened when we went there. When we put in a title like "Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)," it would literally pick us up a bit. That's the way I think of the record. When you put out a record, I don't expect people to pour over it. People take different interpretations. That's how we intended it. It doesn't matter if people get that or not. A kid can sing along to a Bob Dylan song, go on the Internet and pour over the lyrics, and chat with friends about what he means by that. But both interpretations are equally valid. It doesn't really matter on what level you enjoy music. It could be a gut thing, or an intellectual thing, or a pure, emotional kind of thing.

When people call it a happy record, to me it's kind of bittersweet. There's hardly a positive lyric on the whole album. It portrays the mood of how we were feeling at the time. It's strange, but like I said, you can't really expect too much from people. People will make major assumptions, and it's not really that shocking. It happens. What can you do? It's our job to make the best record [we] can. It's not our job to second guess what people are going to think, or agonize over what this person thought. When we put out our first single, we were on a honeymoon. We were the press darlings for about a half hour in the U.K. All of a sudden, it turned. Obviously, I prefer people to write positive things over negative things, but you're never going to please everyone.

Are you excited about playing Lollapalooza [ tickets ] this summer?

It should be really cool. It's always kind of fun traveling with a big circus of bands. You kind of get to know everyone, see lots of bands and hang out. Morrissey is going to be playing, which is cool. Pixies are playing a couple dates. It's a cool lineup.