It's a definitive statement for Melia; a lyric he describes as being among "the most honest" he has ever written.

His is the voice of disenchanted youth: everything is downplayed and nobody is spared in the 23-year-old's scathing critique of the state of things.

When you consider the band's introduction to the music industry, Melia's cynicism may be justified. British India were tipped to be yet another next-big-garage-rock-thing before the release of their first album, Guillotine.

But the recording sat on shelves for months on end while the band's management tried selling it to major labels. There were no bites, so the band's manager, Glenn Goldsmith, and the record's producer, famed Easybeats guitarist Harry Vanda, released it themselves.

"There was all kinds of chicanery going on," Melia says of the delay.

"I can't stress enough how naive and clueless we were. It was not until we faced our own imminent peril as a band that it forced us to gain an understanding of the industry side of things."

To their credit, the British India boys used the delay to their advantage and wrote a follow-up to the ARIA-winning Guillotine before their debut album was even released.

"It was a productive time," Melia says. "A challenge is fertile ground for the kind of music we write."

When youth broadcaster Triple J picked up several tracks from Guillotine (at one stage the band had the most requested song on the station), British India were able to tour extensively knowing they had a fresh batch of songs ready to follow up their success.

These songs, now released as their second album, Thieves, widen the scope for the Victorian four-piece. The band are tighter, the songs smarter and Melia has experimented more with melodies.

"We went in definitely more open-minded," Melia says. "But I guess we still can't escape from the influence of the music we listened to in our embryonic stages as a band. We're still unable to break away from that sound."

Melia, nonetheless, feels the band "made a great record". It was written without compromise, he says, without any of the "filler" songs penned "tragically too often" by many popular artists.

"I can smell it a mile away," Melia says with apparent disgust.

He has also resisted the temptation to be too "black and white" lyrically, he says.

"Guys like Arctic Monkeys and Jamie T are often lauded for being observational, but I find them too participatory. It's like life drawing or something. I don't want to participate, just observe.

"I don't want to write about real life," he says, sounding just a little calculated and rehearsed, "I find real life f---ing boring. The role of the songwriter is to write about the exaggerated life."

How does he think Thieves will fare? "It's out there now, not sure if it's charting or whatever. I'll get my statisticians onto it."

BRITISH INDIA

Tonight at 8, Metro Theatre,

smh.com.au/metro