Constant surprises

IN a cramped studio deep in Bushwick, New York City, You Am I hunkered down to make a start on their 10th studio album.
In over two decades this band has gone from a (sometimes misspelled) name at the bottom of the bill at rock ‘n’ roll haunts in Sydney and Melbourne to being internationally renowned and locally influential standard bearers for rock ‘n’ roll as, to quote Lester Bangs, “a raw wail from the bottom of the guts”.
Transcending the Australian music scene’s trend-driven nature, You Am I have remained a steadfast component of the live scene and their ability to conjure excitement on-stage, whether playing in front of five or 5000, is the stuff of legend.
So here we find the lads at Daptone Records in Brooklyn, standing in the hallowed, sweaty space known as the “House of Soul”, busting out tunes to one-inch tape just like they did over 20 years ago down the road on Greene Street, Soho, where “Hi Fi Way” came to life.
Not a lot has changed since then, (except three are now four and have been for over 15 years).
With tracking complete, the band set about preparing the album for release and now presents the cheekily titled “Porridge and Hotsauce”.
This 10th You Am I studio album is a head-rush of rocking tunes tempered by songs that stretch beyond mere rock ‘n’ roll tomfoolery, showing off every element of Tim Roger’s genius songsmithery.
So after 25 years, 10 studio albums, 10 Aria awards, two live albums (one a 3LP boxset), two “best of” albums, hundreds of sold out shows and playing with heroes like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Replacements and The Kaisers, You Am I are finally headed to Noosa.
Catch You Am I at the Villa Noosa Hotel, Mary Street, Noosaville, on Thursday 19 November from 8pm.
Tickets are on sale now at $35 per person and are available from www.moshtix.com.au