Fu Manchu: Action Men.

Fu Manchu play the Waterloo Hotel on Friday.

It’s almost four years since fuzzy Californian rockers Fu Manchu crammed themselves into the sweaty insides of now defunct Queensland venues Crash & Burn and The Playroom on their Action Is Go tour. While the rooms are gone, there’s a fair chance the damage the band did to the ears in attendance is having some residual effect. While there’s no way to accurately gauge the decibel readings years after the event, It’s certainly one of the loudest shows this hack journo recalls attending.

So after treating us so well the first time they were in Australia, Fu Manchu went and left sunny Vegas off their last set of Aussie gigs. But all is about to be redeemed. Those last remaining whispers your ears are still fit to pick up will soon be reduced to the feedback like wail of tinnitus. You have been warned. Bring it on.

“People seem to like it. It still sounds like us, but the guitars are a little cleaner, there’s some more melody going on,” frontman Scott Hill explains of the band’s most recent release, California Crossing. To my ears it’s a heavier sounding album than it’s predecessor, King Of The Road.

“We just took out time. We had a little more time to do this record and think about the songs and stuff, but it still sounds like us, I think. We always have a kind of an idea what we want the songs to sound like, but things tend to chance once we get into the studio. We’ll try something else, and see how it goes.”

The band used Matt Hyde (Porno For Pyros, Monster Magnet) as a producer and engineer this time around. Did he have much of an influence on the way the final album sounded?

“He had a lot of ideas for arrangements, just trying different stuff. We worked with him for like two months before we went into the studio. We took all the songs and tried different things, new arrangements. He had a lot to do with the way this record sounded.”

Do Fu Manchu tend to overwrite when it comes time to make an album, and then find yourselves having to cut a lot of songs that you’re put a lot of work into?

“That’s exactly what happened with this album. We came up with like, shoot, like 23 or 24 songs and just kind of whittled them down to about 18, and then again to about 13 that we wanted to do for the album. We come up with a lot of extra stuff.”

“We’ll kind of all agree on what we want on the record. Some of the songs that we don’t even lay down demo wise will kind of resurrect later on. We keep a lot of things for like B sides for singles or something.”

Following the recording of California Crossing, long time drummer Brandt Bjork left the band to work on a solo project. Was the move something that had been on the cards for a long time?

“You know, after we were done recording he didn’t know if he wanted to go out and tour for a year. When he told me that we called up out friend Scott Reader, who we’d know for like ten years and was a great drummer. He lived in out area. From the first practice he sounded great, so it really wasn’t that big a deal. Actually he was the guy we were going to ask to join the band right before we got Brandt. We’ve already done like three months of touring with Scott, and he’s really excited to get out on the road, so it works well. We were pretty lucky”

Do you think the line up change will affect the sound of the band next time you go into the studio?

“I’m sure it will keep the same general sound, but well see. Like I said, he’s a pretty creative guy, and a really good drummer. We’ve never really tried anything new with him, but when we get back from Australia we’re going to be working on some new stuff.”

Do you spend a lot of time in the studio each year? The band’s output seems pretty prolific when you look back at all the singles and EPs that hit the shelves between the big ones.

“I think actually California Crossing was the album we spent the most time on. We usually spend only like two weeks at the most. I like to get out as quickly as possible. We don’t have a lot of time to screw around.”

I understand that’s your Chevy El Camino on the cover of the album. One of the trappings of rock superstardom?

“Yup. I’ve always wanted some like that since I was younger. I’ve owned that car for about three years now. I’ve been saving my money, and the band’s doing a bit better now. I took the opportunity and went and got it. I’m more into cars than everyone in the band, but for the most part we’re all into the same stuff.”