Hot Hot Heat - Luke who's talking

I just thought we were going for a drink! laughs guitarist Luke Paquin of Hot Hot Heat's recruitment process. "We just met up in a bar in California, drank a lot of beer and then they asked if I wanted to fly up to Vancouver and jam. At first, I was like 'Ok, it doesn't necessarily mean anything's going to happen.' But it was just good right away - there was an undeniable chemistry."

Luke is the newest member of Hot Hot Heat, drafted when guitarist Dante De Caro left following the completion of the second album, 2004's Elevator, but his belief in the band is already unshakable, given that he is happy to enthuse about new album Happiness LTD despite the fact my phone call has obviously woken him up (what trans-Atlantic time difference?!). And enthuse he should - released in September, Happiness LTD is a huge leap forward, and shows there's much more to the band than jerky pogo-pop.

"It feels much more alive - it better represents who we are as a band now," Luke says of the album. "We wrote most of the songs with the live show in mind, and the rocking type songs always go down best live so writing on the road meant that some of the songs came out a lot harder than you might expect from us.

"I guess most bands hole themselves up somewhere and try to get creative," he muses over the band's decision to write while on tour, "but I think some of the best ideas come to you at five o'clock in the morning when you're laying in a ditch in Italy, you know? One of the best things about being in music is travelling all over the world, so if that doesn't breed creativity, I don't know what will."

Creativity is perhaps not a word associated with Hot Hot Heat (you'll most likely remember them for repetitive single Bandages), but the new album takes a lot of risks, most notably on the strung-out Outta Heart, which features a distinctly un-jerky-pop orchestra.

"I don't even remember whose idea it was to put the orchestra on that," Luke laughs, "It started as acoustic guitar and Steve's [Bays, singer] voice - it was the most elaborate process! I'm a bit wary of string sections, but I think we got away with it! It works for that song so it doesn't come across as obnoxious."

Maybe it's Luke's influence, but the band have a new, ballsy attitude, almost as if they've decided how good they can be and want to make sure everyone else recognises it. And while this new-found confidence will carry them some way, they are aware that it's going to take of a lot of work. As Luke says, "We were on the road for a year and a half when we toured Elevator, and we started sounding so good. Now we're at the beginning of another rotation, we need to learn how to be the best live band in the world again."

He considers this for a moment.

"Gee, that sounded arrogant!"

Arrogant or not, Hot Hot Heat have grown into a band with fire in the belly, and, more importantly, into a force to be reckoned with. Write them off at your own risk.