ENGLAND SWINGS: The Stone Roses, who disappeared...

ENGLAND SWINGS: The Stone Roses, who disappeared for the five years between the release of their debut album and the impending follow-up “The Second Coming,” aren’t going much more high-profile to promote the new album.

The quartet has agreed to do just one press interview in England, choosing to speak only to the magazine The Big Issue, a weekly publication written and sold by homeless people. The magazine is currently fielding bids for syndication rights to the article, which could raise thousands of dollars to aid British street-dwellers.

For all the good intentions of that gesture, the band’s reluctance to engage in any further promotional activities for the album has reportedly rankled executives at Geffen Records, which shelled out millions to sign the Roses. Melody Maker quoted a Geffen source as saying, “The Stone Roses can’t even be bothered to turn up for meetings. There’s a distinct difference between attitude and being downright rude.”

But the group’s comeback single, “Love Spreads,” was welcomed warmly by British fans and press, selling about 75,000 copies in its first week. Reviews have been no less glowing, with Melody Maker declaring that the song, built around a propulsive, ‘70s-style boogie-rock riff, is indeed “the second coming.”