Rough Trade obliged the disc with a release here last year and since then the four-strong group have signed a worldwide deal with A&M, issued a second album, 'The Medicine Show', and toured in Europe.

At the heart of the affair are the songs of Steve Wynn. He penned his first 20 years ago when aged four.

"A tune called 'Sing My Blues'," he recalls, "it had five chords and that's more than I use now. Any more than one chord obstructs what you're trying to bring across. Two chords is a rock opera and three is an epic."

He was a mature eight year old by the time he picked up a guitar and, despite a succession of bands, didn't dare sing until Dream Syndicate began in early 1982.

"I'd been in bands where I'd write the songs but didn't sing them. It's very frustrating, even to have a very good singer entirely missing the point and losing the emotion."

Dream Syndicate fell into place when Steve was joined by the drums of Dennis Duck (insert obligatory comment on name) and the lead guitar of Karl Precoda (who'll never play cricket for Yorkshire). This founding trio being aided by a succession of bass players, Kendra Smith ('The Days Of Wine And Roses'), Dave Provost (The Medicine Show) and Mark Walton (current).

The chirpy and articulate Wynn claims to be inspired by "Late night TV, hearing a good song, reading a good book, being angry, being happy, watching a car go by, being hit in the face by a baseball but usually women with problems. . . "

Their sound, while charged with a modern urgency, carries the imprint of much of their regions' musical heritage from the healthier aspects of Neil Young to the rollin' stock of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Dream Syndicate are part of a roster off fierce and individual L.A. bands, X and Wall Of Voodoo also among them, able to soak up and spit out the electricity of that strange city. It's all a far cry from Fleetwood Mac.

Steve: "L.A. is a big city. It's like sitting under a rock and not even knowing that you're under the rock. When you crawl out everybody says `hey, look what crawled out from under the rock."

Dennis: "There's room for a lot of different things in L.A., a lot of variety."

Steve: "Any city that can claim Captain Beefheart and Steve Garvey (first base with the L.A. Dodgers and All-American Boy) must be diverse. About three years ago a lot of bands came out at exactly the same time, got drunk and had barbecues together. Now none of them ever see each other because they're always on tour. But we're all still friendly, except when we're stabbing each other in the back."

There are elements in your music which hark back to the past.

Steve: "Sure. There are elements in Shakespeare's plays that went back to Marlowe. We have a lot of influences from a lot of different periods of time but emotions and feelings are always contemporary."

But is it punk rock?

Steve: "For a start America invented punk and we've got a lot of influence from that. The hardcore kids come out to see us and slam dance all that shit. I think the only movement that we've bypassed is the synth, techno-pop thing. So be it ... ha ha."

'The Days of Wine and Roses' was recorded in a blistering six hours. 'The Medicine Show' was produced by Sandy Pearlman and took substantially longer. For me, the best bits of 'The Medicine Show' only hint at the peaks of its forbear. Admittedly, given the weight of my affection for the first, the next would have to have been a work of prize-fighter proportions to punch its way into being anything more than a shade disappointing.

Steve: "The first album is a portrait of the band, the way it played live, no more than a live show. On the second we developed and produced each song instead of just blasting it out. It's the style of Chris D. (who oversaw the debut) to just go in, record it, get it out. Sandy PearIman takes a long time. He would like to have taken longer but we were starving so he couldn't."

Dennis: "We has a very strong vision of what he wants to do. The sounds are in his head and sometimes it's a problem to translate the concept into reality – make the sound in his mind match the sound coming through the speakers."

Steve: "He and I would grapple a lot. There were times when things in his vision didn't agree with me and the rest of the band. He doesn't just think in terms of 'We'll get the bass and drums to sound, this way' but he thinks of other planets and everything that's ever existed in the last 20,000 years. He's a very unusual character."

Sounds it. But which platter do you prefer?

Steve: "What's Mom gonna say? Is the boy better or the girl better? It depends on the day and how I feel at the time. They're very different records."

Do they both represent Dream Syndicate?

Dennis: "They used to represent us but not at this present stage. The band has a new member and it's evolved into something different. It doesn't sound anything like it ever sounded, there's a new variation and it will be on the next record. I don't think what we're like on stage now is like either of the records."

True. Dream Syndicate live have no introversion as regards volume. They are thunderously loud. Plus all the songs seemed lengthened and have Karl cavorting around the stage effecting, moodishly biting guitar solos.

Steve: "On stage we've always taken the songs and blown them out. Take the little walnut of a song and crack it open. The songs are there to be messed with. As a songwriter I don't even mind. It makes it more fun."

Do you lust after vast success?

Steve: "I just want to be happy. I don't mind selling five million records if they're great records. I'm happy when every move is not being planned, when you lose control and it starts running away from You. There are some shows where I can remember everything that happened. The best are when I can't remember anything.

"When Dream Syndicate play live it's very hard to ignore unless you leave the room and that's what I like. If a song is a bit sleazy and gritty, somebody saying 'Oh shit man, I'm gonna drop my pants and get outta the room!'."

Can there be any greater compliment?