BRITISH INDIA [08:08:07] SONGS BY US Declan Melia is an open and engaging fellow. He doesn't dodge questions, or tell you what he thinks you want to hear, he just tells it as he sees it. And through his eyes, the future of his band, British India, is bright. The band have recently released their debut album 'Guillotine', and frontman Melia is pretty damn impressed with the results. "I think it's pretty fucking awesome actually," he boasts. "I think we're all pretty happy with the songs on the album, and how they turned out - we were pretty stoked when Triple J picked it up as a feature album, it's all going well." And so it should - because if there is any truth to Melia's reflections, we should have basically heard all of the songs somewhere before. "Other people say their inspiration comes from a waterfall or a beautiful woman or something, but for me it's really about a song I've heard before - I wonder, 'How we could sound like that, what song could we write like that,' you know," he muses. "I think we are just continually ripping off so many artists at once. When I listen to our album I think it sounds like a whole lot of songs from other bands. Like the first track is like a Queens of the Stone Age song - it's like a compilation record, but in reality they're all songs by us." For many part-time British India observers, it may seem odd that the Melbourne band is only just releasing their debut album when their first EP was released in 2005. But Melia says any delay was due to the young band's inexperience in the industry. "The fact that we have waited 'til now to put out an album comes down to a bit of mis-management on our part," he says cautiously. "Thinking that we could do it all ourselves, and that if we just did what we did that would be enough and it would all be ok - it's not always that simple." Melia is quick to point out however, that the wait to record the new album wasn't necessarily a bad thing, with the band gaining much sought after experience in the meantime. "We've been gigging around, writing some material, and we've been lucky enough to spend some quality time in the studio with some pretty talented people," he begins. "But we're all pretty keen to hit the road properly again for the album launch shows - you're never in the studio for long enough for it to get boring, but at the same time, it's good to be out there amongst the masses." Erika Hennessy British India play The Zoo on Thursday August 9. Their debut album 'Guillotine' is out now through Flashpoint/Shock Records. back to top ^

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