Died Pretty have been slowly slogging it out for around ten years gradually accumulating dedicated fans and respect from the music industry suits. The mainstream success of their latest LP 'Doughboy Hollow' should not have been surprising - it has the distinctive Died Pretty feel although it is much more mellow than the heady days of 'Next To Nothing' and 'Just Skin'.

BRETT: ' We wanted to write more concise pop songs. Also, we didn't want to piss around too much. We had something to say and we wanted to make it as nice and 'sayable', and not have anything that wasn't supposed to be there. The production is more textured and layered. The last one we did ['Every Brilliant Eye'] had a more rock'n'roll production. Big drums, big loud guitars. I guess at times it stripped away the subtlety of the band and made us a bit bludgeoning. But with this one there's more pieces. The whole thing is more dense. There's more mystery to it. You can listen to it and not get the whole picture. '

LEMON: ' The vocals on 'Doughboy Hollow' are more quiet and subdued than they have ever been. Are Died Pretty mellowing out as they get older? '

BRETT: ' The vocals aren't as buried as they used to be. They're more upfront. I think Ron got sick of screeching and yelling and just wanted to sing. Sure, we're getting older. There's no way out of it. There's a lot of younger kids that can play a lot louder and a lot faster than we ever used to. And yell a lot tougher. There's nothing worse than trying to prove yourself over and over. We don't want to be like these 40-year-old guys playing heavy rock. It seems pathetic to me. I'd rather do what we feel comfortable with and what we feel natural with. Fuck, there's hundreds of loud screaming rock bands, but there's not many around like us.'

LEMON: ' ... maybe it's not that Died Pretty are getting older, but the music has changed direction. Last year, bass player Steve Clark left to be replaced by Robert Warren ... '

BRETT: ' He's a guy we just met through being a fan of the band. He used to come and see us every show we'd play in Brisbane and we just got to know him. He had his own band in Brisbane, but he was always telling us that if we ever needed a bass player, he was the man. Then, eventually when Steve left he was on the phone like a shot. So, we decided that after all his perseverance that we should at least give him a go. He was great. Being a fan, he knew the material from way back. He seemed tailor made. '

LEMON: ' What I noticed most on 'Doughboy Hollow' was that the keyboards seem much more dominant. '

BRETT: ' That was a reaction to the last album where the keyboards tended to get buried a bit. To me, the keyboards in this album sound how they should be. They are a large part of the band's sound. They are a major part of what makes us, us. On the last one I used to fight with the producer constantly about it. He'd walk out of the room and pull it down a bit. I really enjoyed making the record with him, but we had lots of fights.'

LEMON: ' Jeff Eyrich, the producer for 'Every Brilliant Eye', is American, whereas Hugh Jones, producer of 'Doughboy Hollow', is English. Why the switch? '

BRETT: ' When we had the majority of the songs written, I just thought they lent themselves more to an English producer. Plus, you always react to what you've done before, and I was looking for something different. It wasn't a name I knew off the top of my head, but I saw all the work he'd done in the past and there was a whole lot of stuff that I liked and thought was really cool. He did the first two Echo And The Bunnymen albums, the first couple of Teardrop Explodes [albums], 'Manic Pop Thrill' - That Petrol Emotion's album. Stan Ridgeway's 'Big Heat'. A variety of good sounding records. He was the most enthused about the songs that we had and thought a couple were really fantastic. That's nice. We're open to flattery, you know. He turned our heads a bit. '

LEMON: ' Well, 'Doughboy Hollow' seems to have been a change in the right direction. It's probably the most accessible and radio-friendly of all Died Pretty's work. Rather than old fans dropping off because of the change, Died Pretty seem to have converted more people. '

BRETT: ' You can't make the same records for ten years. It would be really dull. If we made an album that sounded exactly like the same as 'Free Dirt', we'd be criticised. It doesn't matter if you change or stay the same, so long as you're happy with what you're doing. And we are. '

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