In control of their new sounds

Stylus have spent two years perfecting their second album, which is launched tomorrow

There are merits to being sick, as Stylus singer Matt Samuels discovered at the weekend. He got to sit on the couch for long enough to realise his band's new single, I Was Alone Until Tonight was getting a good run on music TV. "And I didn't even have to text it in myself."

We're into the hard stuff a few days later - chamomile tea for Samuels and an OJ for bass player Paul Matthews, who reckons the cool cars and bikes in the video probably have something to do with its popularity. But he's not complaining.

Stylus are gearing up for the release of their second album, Gain Control, which they will celebrate with a launch party at the Kings Arms tomorrow night.

"It will be like playing our first gig all over again," says Samuels. "I'm already getting nervous."

It is two years since the band - which also includes guitarist Aja Timu and drummer Dave Rhodes - released their debut album, Painkillers.

Since, they have toured the country several times, gained a metal freak, (Timu), sold a lot of T-shirts, answered a million questions about their stand-off with of a crossbow attacker, wound up on the soundtrack of an MTV reality show, and gone halfway to gold status with sales of 3670 albums.

It has been a hard slog, and Gain Control, which implies they were lacking it beforehand, has taken them in a few new directions.

For starters, there is less of the rap-rock element that set Painkillers apart yet threatened to put it into the nu-metal category.

That's partly because Timu, who joined on guitar in 2004, wasn't a big fan "and when someone in the band doesn't like something, the best thing you can do is go where it takes you, go where it's feeling good," says Matthews.

The funk and hip-hop grooves haven't disappeared, they have been toned down, although the guys had a serious discussion about whether or not to include what Samuels calls "this evil thing that people refer to as nu-metal.

"The rap took a back seat to more singing and harmonies. It's a lot more grainy and raspy. I'm pushing myself a lot more."

In the end they relented to their urges and invited their mate, Illy to rap on the album's wackiest and catchiest track, Never No No, a mish-mash of Rage Against the Machine guitar riffs, ska and breakbeat.

They also pushed themselves in the studio, with the pair producing the record together. Matthews was determined to focus on Stylus, despite talk he might return to help Blindspott to produce their second album.

"The album is more affirmative," says Samuels. "It's not so, 'Bugger this'."

The attitude has also extended to their business sense.

"You can't just pump out an album, drop a single, and get everyone to fall in love with it," says Matthews. "You have to get out there and play lots of shows, keep writing music that you love.

"If you really love your music there's no question about if you're going to keep doing it. And we're picking up new fans all the time, even though it's been a slightly longer process than we originally thought."

The initial plan was to put out Painkillers and see what happened, although there were concerns it might fall through the cracks.

That worry hasn't gone away with Gain Control, although there's no denying Stylus have become a tighter act through all the touring.

"There's so much music these days, it's crazy," says Samuels. "If you're not wearing a specific hat of that genre, some people aren't going to pay attention to you."

They still hold down part-time jobs; Samuels still drives a $500 car but he has swapped his gig handing out shoes at a bowling alley to play drums in a soul and R&B band with Matthews once a week.

"We worked really hard because we wanted it to be better," says Matthews. "We pushed ourselves and we toured, and the band got better."

Who: Stylus
Where and when: Kings Arms, tomorrow, with support from Redline and Mystery Liquid