You Am I

You Am I's frontman Tim Rogers talks to Andrew P Street about...

...You Am I's new, self-titled album.
Where it sits on the pretentiousness meter is yet to be seen, but we put a lot into it. We were very restricted for time that we could spend in the studio, but there were very long, absinthe-infused discussions about what we wanted it to be and how we wanted to play, though very little time actually playing to get it together. We don't work very typically, I think.

...the album's title.
I wanted to call it We Hardly Knew You, with reference to Germaine Greer's book about her father, and then the more I looked at it, it was like, "well, this sounds like there's a finality to it," and that's just not the case. I didn't want to misrepresent the other guys in the band by having such a lofty and potentially misunderstood title. So I thought making it self-titled encapsulates what I thought was the main theme of the record, which is essentially a kind of physical and mental and emotional vertigo. There's an acknowledgment that you're never going to get that transcendental moment where you're going to get that whole picture, so maybe just allowing yourself to freefall and to go with the tradewinds is the way to go.

...not reading too much significance in his band's name.
The name of the band is always going to be a mystery. It was suggested by my best friend [original bassist Nick Tischler], but I don't think we're all in this together. I don't live by Ben Lee song titles: I've had enough experience to know that people aren't all essentially the same.

...the album's guest vocalist Megan Washington.
She's my new best mate! We go on day trips to galleries now. We're going to be the mates who don't drink together. I just drink with everyone else...

...frustration with being judged by his past.
I think a lot of our impatience has come from that we really believed in records that were made in the past and when you get told "it's not as good as your third record or your second record" it erodes your confidence. You put everything you can into a record and then you think, "quick, let's get into to something else because I don't want this to be heartbreaking again." So yeah, it's possible it affects our natural enthusiasm.

...not getting any younger.
I was out with [legendary Australian rock photographer] Tony Mott and he was showing me some photos of myself, and I thought "God, I really am growing into my face," actually. I was a very ugly kid [laughs].

You Am I Metro Theatre, Sat 16 Oct