You Am I Return Very Slowly

ARIA-winning rockers set for a gradual return.

A long time in the rock & roll wilderness - their #4 Record is now almost three years old - You Am I are set for a gradual return over the next few months. A new single, "Damage", is due in October, followed by a tour. Then during October and November the trio will pop up on the soundtracks for the films Bootmen and Better than Sex. A Big Day Out slot in January will be followed by their fifth studio album, Dress me Slowly, which will emerge in February.

Speaking from his home in Melbourne, Tim Rogers reveals that a Jack Daniels sponsorship helped make the recording of the album the best studio experience of the band´s career. "It was free of any kind of bickering or toing and froing," he reports. "Jack Daniels sent us a crate plus half a crate of vodka and we went for broke."

The album was recorded in Sydney with American Cliff Norell (who´s worked with REM, the Replacements, Indigo Girls and Rollins). He and the band developed a tight relationship during the four weeks in the studio. "He´s an all round good guy," Rogers says. "We had some stops and starts with other producers (including Ed Buller) but I´m glad that didn´t work in the long run.

"I want someone I can hang out with for a couple of weeks and enjoy their company. Life´s short and I want to make records and have experiences that I revel in and leave me spent. At the end of this I was a fucking wreck because I had so much fun doing it.

"It´s very much a You Am I record," Rogers adds. "There were discussions about ´well, do we want to jump into that good future?´ and we went, ´no, we want to roll into the future´. So there´s the odd geographical reference, a couple of ballads and some seemingly senseless rock songs."

Jeff Apter