Louis XIV's Sexy tour
» Louis XIV - Zoo, The, QLD - June 15, 2006
What's the best comment that Louis XIV have heard about themselves? No, not that they have a great sound, that they have kick arse live shows or that they have revolutionised music in any way, shape or form. No, the best comment is that they are 'musically irresponsible'. That pretty much sums up the attitude for this bunch of sexed-up rockers from San Diego.
The band have just completed a whirlwind tour of Australia, where they took in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. I ask vocalist Jason Hill if there were any special plans for the tour and he jokes about surprises ruined by this scribe.
"I was thinking about locking our drummer Mark in a cage but now you've blown the surprise ... next time keep your good ideas to yourself," he says. The boys spent their first day in the country sitting drinking by the water in Brisbane - an experience Jason lables as 'incredible'.
Listening to Louis XIV's album, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, is what you'd imagine walking into a 1970s rock 'n' roll brothel to be like - it's gritty, it's raw and it's drenched in the sounds of dirty sex, and that's just how Hill likes it.
"It's just how I like my sex," he says.
"Music is about taste and the music people make is a reflection of their taste. I can't say we intended to make music that sounded like dirty sex, but I do consider that a compliment, so thank you."
The first single from that album, 'Finding Out True Love is Blind' received widespread airplay on Triple J and helped to establish their following around Australia. Elsewhere in the world, the album created some controversial waves - but not because of the music. No, it was because of the artwork which featured a picture of a naked woman, taken from behind.
"All the idiotic talk of us being sexist and racist and other things that truly have no basis in reality. On the few occasions that I read things of that sort I laughed at first but it was still annoying and unfounded. Obviously people that merely made decisions before either hearing our music or based upon preconceptions," says Hill.
So what can fans expect to come next from Louis XIV? "We are almost finished working on our new album. It's very different. As Ricky Gervais once said, 'Nothing changes if it stays the same'." Indeed.
