Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Melbourne band Zoophyte - but if you think you know their music, think again.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2004, the band forged an enviable reputation as a blistering live act, which they followed up in the studio with their acclaimed 2007 debut, Another Point of View. After clocking up a few thousand kilometres playing sold-out shows across the country, the guys decided to take a break, do some soul searching and start work on their highly anticipated follow-up.

It’s a history that stands the band in great stead as they move to a new phase with a revamped line-up, intensified rock sound and kick-ass attitude.

Make no mistake – gone are the folk/pop/funk hybrid tracks that defined Zoophyte of old. In their place is a guitar-heavy, alt-rock tour-de-force.

Cam Lee (vocals and guitar), Andrew Gilpin (bass), Elvis Alius (drums) and Rob Muinos (guitar) spent the best part of the last 18 months in the studio – writing, recording and shaping the inherently melodic rock sound that is the Zoophyte of 2012.

“The old format of the band was a five-piece and we were all into different styles and types of music,” Cam says “but now, everyone is on the same track and it feels like a new band. It’s a much bigger, larger sound; we use a lot of delayed guitars and everyone sings – there’s definitely a stronger rockier edge to our sound now.”

That sound has been honed and perfected on the band’s follow-up, SOMEWHERE ELSEWHERE, a 13-track rock-fuelled ride that sees Zoophyte carve out their own niche in the Aussie rock landscape.

Recorded at Melbourne’s Woodstock Studios and mastered by award-winning engineer Bob Ludwig (Radiohead, Nirvana, AC/DC), the album stemmed from a pact between long-time members Cam and Gilps.

“We made a deal to write a song a week for a year,” Cam says. “Four or five months in, we got Elvis on board playing drums and we had close to 60 or more songs started. From there, we started demoing around 30 of them, recorded 16 for the album and then chose 13 from that. A lot of the songs are relationship based I guess, not just partners but also the relationships that exist with friends and family – but all of them are open to however you want to interpret them.”

“Yeah that process worked well” says Gilps. “I’d have Cam ringing me at one in the morning to tell me about an idea for a song. It was just how we did it.”

As they started rehearsing, their refined sound emerged and the songwriting pact expanded to take more of a collaborative approach.

“We just got together and jammed in the studio,” Elvis says. “In the beginning it was just us three and when we added an extra guitar, we took the songs to another level. And Cam’s the kind of guy who can hear the potential in every song. You can get an idea down and he’ll go and work on it and come back with this melody which just works.”

“The core of it all happens in rehearsals,” Gilps says, “And everyone’s ideas are taken on, no one shuts anyone down and it just grows from there.”

“The core of it all happens in rehearsals,” Gilps says, “And everyone’s ideas are taken on, no one shuts anyone down and it just grows from there.”

Lead single ‘LET YOU GO’ and the powerful ‘THE FLIGHT’ are pivotal in defining the Zoophyte of today.

“Let You Go is a tight song – that one really stood out for us,” Elvis says. “It’s one that just came together really quickly and felt really good for us, as a band.” “Yeah,” Cam agrees, “That one has a great hook, especially vocally and the chorus is really catchy. It’s quite powerful. It really defined our sound for the rest of the album, and so did The Flight. They both define exactly where we are right now.”

With the release of Somewhere Elsewhere on the horizon, the guys are looking forward to taking it on the road to build on their reputation as a powerful, must-see live act.

“We just wanna get out there in front of people,” Cam says. “For me personally, it’s the kick of playing live, and to have music that our fans are really in to – it’s a pretty amazing feeling. And when we play live, things go up to another level, it’s the same energy and excitement we felt when we were writing the album.”