Die! Die! Die!: 'It all fell together far too easily'

Die! Die! Die!'s new album was recorded in part in Byron Bay, London and Dunedin. Photo / Supplied

Die! Die! Die!'s upcoming sixth album is somewhat of a puzzle piece.

The NZ punk rockers - made up of guitar/vocalist Andrew Wilson, drummer Michael Prain and bassist Rory Atwell - are fragmented, spread between Auckland and London.

But despite that, since their last EP they've been touring intermittently, gradually piecing together the ideas that ultimately became Charm. Offensive. With three days off during their Australian tour, the trio booked a studio in Byron Bay and began working on new tracks.

Later, after shows in China in September last year, they returned to the London studio where their last EP was recorded and picked up where they left off.

Once they realised they had an album on their hands the band returned to New Zealand and completed Charm. Offensive at Dunedin's Chick's Hotel.

For all its different pieces, Charm. Offensive is a richly cohesive work - and Wilson says it came together surprisingly seamlessly.

Although they "slaved over" their past three albums - Swim (2014), Harmony (2012) and Form (2010) - Charm. Offensive was a breeze in comparison.

"Everyone says this, and I don't actually believe everybody, but it really did come quite organically," he says. "There really wasn't much effort put into it - it all fell together far too easily. Sonically, musically and ideas-wise, it really did just fall together very quickly."

The album's title fits with the band's use of punctuation to convey meaning, and I presumed the period in the middle of Charm. Offensive was deliberately placed to form some sort of representative statement of the album's story.

But for an album which was assembled so cleanly, explaining the title's meaning is a bit more of a stretch for Wilson.

"That name came about because - I can't even remember now. It was just basically trying to put across . . . I don't know, it's basically people . . . I don't know."

To his credit, Wilson is speaking to me in the throes of a particularly busy day - and with a little more probing, he says: "You can try really hard to make people like you but you're not going to do very well anyway."

So is it about aggressively trying to be charming? "Yeah, a little bit like that. Definitely," he says.

As opposed to one's charm being offensive? "I think it's a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B."

Die! Die! Die! begin a five-date nationwide tour this month, and are playing Laneway for the first time next year.

With several local up-and-coming bands joining them in each city, the shows promise a diverse mix of sounds - which Wilson, who's fresh back from playing a hard-core music festival in China, is excited for.

"I don't want to sound like I'm insulting the hard-core music festival we just played, but it does get a bit monotonous when it's just like, hard-core band, hard-core band, hard-core band. I like eclectic shows."

LOWDOWN:
Who: Die! Die! Die!
What: New album Charm. Offensive
When: October 6