Kirin J Callinan is something of a modern day renaissance man, a polymorphic pop provocateur who revels in stretching creative boundaries and treading a fine line between the sublime and the ridiculous. His debut album Embracism explored industrial tension and bittersweet balladry but Bravado takes a different kind of maximalist approach. Combining brash, over-the-top EDM synths with Callinan's trademark effect-laden guitar playing, answerphones, didgeridoos, whistling and that voice that recalls the orotund tones of Scott Walker, Matt Johnson (The The) and Alan Vega (Suicide), it's a bold transition, yet it's not a great departure from his core aesthetic.

"I wanted to make the same record again and explore the same ideas and the weirdness I'd created but push it further. In the past, there was this moody, kind of violent, shadowy, industrial murkiness with all these spiritual ballads. I wanted those electronic sounds that were previously industrial and threatening to now be inclusive and fun. The ballads were previously more poetic and self-serious. I wanted the new ones to have a more heightened sentimentality and be more inclusive and accessible, rather than the idea of being elitist or cool. I wanted to do away with all that and make it fun," he stresses.

"I was able to flick a switch and love all the things I hated about it and see it for what it was and understand its beauty and humanity and the truth in its ugliness, bombast and bravado."

"I kind of hated this record and didn't feel motivated to finish it," recalls Callinan, when asked why four years have passed since he released his debut solo album. "The truth is that the vast majority of this record was made in 2014. The songs were written then and they haven't changed much since mid-2015. I guess what did change was my perspective. I was able to flick a switch and love all the things I hated about it and see it for what it was and understand its beauty and humanity and the truth in its ugliness, bombast and bravado."

Callinan was encouraged to finish the album when "a bunch of different guests, who made cameos on the record, heard what I had and wanted to be part of it. That definitely fills you with confidence when you have doubt over something". Some collaborations were with friends while others such as Jimmy Barnes and the Finn family were happy accidents that he pursued. "I emailed Jimmy and told him I was a fan of his music and particularly his scream. I didn't hear back for months and eventually, I landed in LA and in my inbox he'd sent me a bunch of WAV files of him screaming and I worked it into the song which was cool!" enthuses Callinan.

When it comes to how Bravado will be received, Callinan is already looking ahead to the next album. "I already have a completely crystallised view of what I want the next album to be. I'm going to start work on it in Las Vegas where there is absurdity, amorality and the idea that there is no good or bad, just wanton desire. It's a strange place with a mix of families, tourists, gambling, prostitution, extreme wealth and poverty, the desert and bright neon lights. I'll be getting to work on that at the first opportunity."

"No matter what people say about Bravado, it's original and singular which is more than can be said for a lot of things. I've been excited and validated by the response to it so far. It's nothing new for me to be divisive. If they like it or hate it, who gives a fuck."