The Distillers have been holed-up in the Site studio in Marin County, California, since late May laying down tracks for their major-label debut, Coral Fang, due this fall. Hootie and the Blowfish recorded here," says drummer Andy Outbreak, reporting from the studio. The bucolic setting, and the less-than-punk reputation of Hootie and Co., may hint at a new direction for the California four-piece. According to Outbreak, "It's not gonna be punk-rock as usual."

"I think the songs are a little more refined," adds frontwoman Brody Armstrong. "It's not just straight-ahead three chords, and here's my vomit."

The band is enjoying the amenities of their newfound fame, built on the strength of 2002's breakthrough Sing Sing Death House. "We did the last record in two-and-a-half weeks in between tours," says Outbreak, "and it was really rushed and we had some problems. This time we have the luxury of a lot of time to work on the songs and make them sound exactly the way we want them."

Crafting that sound is producer Gil Norton, who recently finished work on Dashboard Confessional's upcoming effort. "We like some of the stuff he's done in the past," Outbreak says. "He did the Pixies, the Foo Fighters, Echo and the Bunnymen -- that's good enough for me. We definitely see eye to eye on what we're looking for, and he's an artist's producer, not super fucking unapproachable. He's not a dictator."

With Norton at the helm, the band is mixing things up on songs like "Join the Blood," "Cincinnati" and "Die on a Rope." "You know how punk has to be fucking fast, right?" asks Outbreak. "Well, it's not like that. We're trying to switch it up, add a little variety to the mix. It can't be 100 miles per hour all the time without you fucking getting bored."

The Distillers will preview their new material on this summer's Lollapalooza tour.

DAVID SWANSON
(June 23, 2003)