“There should be an element of risk every time you play live,” Joe McKee, the razor-voiced frontman of hyped art rockers Snowman declares. Not ones to run the risk of over-rehearsing songs and falling into routine in their live sets, Joe instead sees Snowman’s approach to their often unhinged and unpredictable art as more instinctual than studied. It’s “a kind of strange addiction you develop,” the result of a mindset that is “very primal, all about the rhythms and vibrations.”

The four-piece have certainly been making vibrations through the music industry of late, with uber-influential website Pitchfork nominating them as the vanguard of an exciting new wave of genre-bending Australian music. The band are planning to relocate to London later this year, not just to capitalise on their growing international reputation, but also because “we all needed to get out of our comfort zones, creatively and in our lives.” A move to the east coast was briefly considered (“getting out of Perth was the main plan”) but they settled on the UK, where Joe was born and where electric violinist/vocalist Andy has obtained a work permit.

Being a new (to UK ears at least) band, are they wary of the music press in what will be their new home – that passionate yet often fickle beast which has the potential to make or break bands seemingly on a whim? “I won’t pay attention to it,” Joe says. “They can do what they want. As long as we keep making the music we want to make…eventually people will listen to it over there, I suppose. Whether they [the press] support us or hate us won’t affect what we do.”

Snowman would seem justified in sticking to their guns. New record The Horse, The Rat and The Swan is nothing if not confident: a scary, swaggering behemoth which delves into dark atmospheric corners and is impossible to ignore. It demands critical engagement and sometimes assaults the listener with its innovative and often abrasive percussive elements. One reference point would be another Australian band that transplanted themselves to London, The Birthday Party, whose knack for scary, lurching post-punk they share. Joe confirms the Nick Cave -led group as one of the “millions” of bands to have influenced Snowman. “We’ve listened to them since we were teenagers, so it’s inevitable that would seep out.”

Often described as cinematic in sound (Joe cites the Coen Brothers as amongst his favourite filmmakers), McKee concedes they draw inspiration from a wide range of sources. Music, though, involves the audience more; films, he feels, “can often drag you down a path…it can be very non-interactive. I think music doesn’t give you all the answers. Music leaves more questions, which I like.”

Snowman also seem to like drawing in influences from world music, particularly Indonesia, where Andy grew up and Joe visited as a child. Both love the gamelan, native to that country. “It’s just such a great, rich sounding instrument,” Joe enthuses, and it can be found pulsing through the squealing guitars and violent percussion of The Horse…

For this, their second full-length album, Red Jezebel guitarist and WAMI award-winning engineer Dave Parkin joined Snowman on production duties. He played a role as both a psychologist and translator for the band’s more abstract song ideas. “We talk in colours and maths and he has to translate it into real sounds,” Joe laughs. It’s a working relationship that has served the band well. “[He’s] an incredibly talented chap. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

With drummer Ross DiBlasio on the mend after a motorbike accident which saw him break his elbow, the band is now gearing up for a tour in July. It’ll be the last chance to see them on Australian shores before they re-locate. While details of shows are yet to be confirmed (Joe thinks the tour is likely to run from July 7 to July 20), one can safely say the shows will be spooky, loud and on another plane entirely from standard guitar rock – elevated by that “element of risk”.

The Horse, The Rat and the Swan is released on 24 May 2008. Snowman will also be touring throughout July.