The ex-Auteurs frontman told Digital Spy that his reputation for hating everything is "slightly lazy".
Haines said: "Obviously a book like [2009 memoir] Bad Vibes, I revved up the misanthrope angle a bit, but I do wonder if people actually know what misanthrope means.
"Misanthrope means to hate everything. Even in Bad Vibes, it's clear that I don't hate everything."
He continued: "It just becomes a slightly lazy cliché. I don't go down the road and buy a pint of milk misanthropically in the morning!
"I might in my time have said some not-so positive words about a few indie bands, but that doesn't actually make me a misanthrope."
Haines releases new studio album Nine and a Half Psychedelic Meditations on British Wrestling of the 1970s and early '80s through Plastic Fantastic on October 11.
He recently revealed plans for further North Sea Scrolls live shows with ex-Fatima Mansions star Cathal Coughlan, author Andrew Mueller and cellist Audrey Riley.
He added that he hoped to make a recording of the project around the New Year.
> Read our full interview with Luke Haines
Watch The Auteurs perform '1967' below:
