Peter Coyne, lead singer with the British band the Godfathers, shakes a pair of maracas as if he's wringing the neck of his fiercest enemy. When he's not spitting words into the microphone, his face has the blank, unfocused fury of a serial killer. His chin juts forward provocatively.
An interesting band, the Godfathers, no doubt about it. A bunch of latter-day Angry Young Men, very much in the "disenchanted Englishman" mould of playwright John Osborne (their grey suit/white shirt uniform hearkening back to '50s establishment), they've turned out more than their fair share of strong, passionate pop songs over the past five years.
"Most of the songs," says Coyne, "are very intense experiences. Because, in the end, it's all about energy. That's what we do: we give out energy to people. After every show, I see a lot of happy, smiling faces out there. Which is what it's all about - we want to give people a good time. Make 'em forget their worries for an hour and a half ..."
One would think that, of all places, a Godfathers show is the last place to leave your parcel of woes behind - particularly with songs like like Birth School Work Death.
"Well, hopefully, you bring the audience into the whole experience. It doesn't matter whether people agree with our lyrics or not, so long as they enjoy listening to the songs."
His brother, bassist Chris Coyne, agrees.
"It's like that old Temptations' song, Ball of Confusion - if you don't know what the lyrics are about, how serious they are, you can just dance to it. It works equally well on both levels."
Still, Peter Coyne's vocal style takes a lot of ignoring. Almost speaking the lyrics across the top of the music, every word is clearly enunciated, definite; the language plain and unadorned, so that there's virtually no chance of misinterpretation.
"Well, it's all about communication, innit? I mean, that's what singing is. Every producer I've ever worked with has told me the same thing: 'You're talking to somebody out there, boy, so if you've got something to say, then say it.' It's almost conversation, in a way."
A fairly one-sided conversation, surely?
"Not at all. There's always somebody listening out there."
Listening, perhaps - but how can they respond? With volume on their side, the band will always hold all the aces. And the Godfathers certainly make the most of the opportunity: they'll bludgeon you with sound and class polemic until you feel dizzy.
But there's no room for argument, here. No correspondence is entered into. Try to question their world view, and you'll be met with the title to another of their songs, a flat answer: 'Cause I Said So. End of discussion.
Peter looks impatient. "If the crowd respond," he says slowly, "they do it with their feet, their hands. By moving their arses. It's obvious."
Chris interrupts: "Have you ever seen a band that can really communicate on an equal basis with their audience? It can't happen."
Exactly the point, but before I can say anything, Peter is speaking again.
"As a group," he says, "I think we have a lot of character. So many bands these days are just like everybody else. They don't really sing about anything in particular. Very shallow people. And very shallow music."
Their more recent material (collected on their new album, Unreal World) reveals a more pronounced psychedelic edge, a dreaminess evident in the layered haze of songs like I Love What's Happening to Me.
Peter agrees: "I happen to like the word psychedelic', actually. I think it's one of the better words in the English language. And that period in music was one of the most exciting times, when a lot of things were being tried. It wasn't nearly as stagnant and dull as it is today."
Yet mention the last popular use of that term (as a half-hearted justification for both the acid-house dance craze and the short-lived Manchester craze), and the Godfathers' almost legendary contempt for their contemporaries is again evident.
"Well, that garbage doesn't strike me as psychedelic at all." He makes a disparaging sound in his throat. "It certainly doesn't take me anywhere. I mean, Tommy James & The Shondells are a lot more far-out to me than the bloody Charlatans could ever be."
The Godfathers play on December 17 at Tracks, Epping; the 19th at The General Bourke Hotel, Parramatta; 20th at The Venue, Dee Why; 21st at the Annandale Hotel, and an all-ages show at the Bondi Pavilion on December 22(with Ratcat).