In case you haven't noticed, rock is back in a huge way. Bands like the Strokes, the Hives, and the Killers have been turning us on with their rollicking tunes, letting us know that rock is here to stay. Now there's the Tarts, a trio from the NYC with "Next Big Thing" written all over them. Singer/guitarist Ray Kross, bassist Calvin Grant, and drummer Mark Bartlett kick out a little Seventies glam and Sixties psych on their debut album, The Dark Fields of the Republic Will Soon Become Your Enemy, and they've been making waves with their single "Outer Space." AC caught up with the band at their recent video shoot and asked them what it's like to be on the brink of NBT (Next Big Thingness).AC: Hey guys! So, tell me a little about your influences. The Dark Fields of the Republic Will Soon Become Your Enemy seems to draw from a lot of different places. I hear a lot of Floyd.

Kross: Definitely. We listen to all kinds of music, but we're most influenced by bands like Pink Floyd, Bowie, Velvet Underground, Gang of Four.

Grant: I'd say everything from the Stones to early U2, really.

AC: Tell me a little about the recording of the album. What's The Dark Fields of the Republic Will Soon Become Your Enemy mean?

K: Well, we're very much a band of ponderers, and when we write, we all kind of go into a collective trance where ideas come about. Then we'll just riff on one idea for a little while. [The first single] "Outer Space" came from that process. It's just this idea of space and rock together.

AC: You've been getting all sorts of press. Are you looking forward to all the attention, especially from the opposite sex?

K: We'll take whatever press we can get, but that's not what we're about. We're talking to some people from The OC about being on the next soundtrack. We just want to represent our generation and take it to the next level.

AC: So, if you could make out with any celebrity right now, who would it be?

K: I have a girlfriend, so I can't say.

G: Um, that chick from Alias?

B: Glenn Close. She looks really good.