It's a mantra for many a band seeking inspiration: back to the stacks, back to the stacks, back to the stacks. The Australian trio Cut Copy, whose free-spirited break-out album, "In Ghost Colours," finely plumbed the depths of '80s electropop, knew they needed some new directions for their upcoming album, due in February.

Still, it's hard to turn away from what launched your band -- and the records made by the floppy-haired wounded souls of the '80s did just that for Cut Copy. "In Ghost Colours" was chosen as one of the best albums of 2008 by the Times in the U.K. and Pitchfork Media, received fairly glowing reviews all around for its roving collagist style, and set the band aloft on global tours. In Cut Copy's home country, the album eventually reached No. 1 on the ARIA charts, bumping aside surfer bro Jack Johnson.

And while cleaning up the charts and lapping the planet is nice, it doesn't provide much time for reflection. When the band members returned to Melbourne, Australia, setting up a studio in an old textile warehouse, they finally got a chance to listen to all the bounty they'd bought in record shops all over the world. A new sound emerged, one born from hours of listening to the tribal, Afro-pop-influenced sounds of the Talking Heads and Brian Eno, Fleetwood Mac's crystalline "Tusk" and the background soul singers on David Bowie's "Young Americans."

Now, it could be said that those same records are currently inspiring countless young bands, but the outcome for Cut Copy sounds promisingly fresh so far. The first track from its as-of-yet untitled work is fittingly titled "Where I'm Going." The vocal harmonies recall a touch of the Beach Boys, but it's driven by a firm rhythmic backbone, which vocalist Dan Whitford says is a constant throughout the new work. So expect more percussion, but overlaid with melodic psychedelic washes and bleached-out harmonies.

Cut Copy -- Where I_m Going

We talked with Whitford about these latest directions, a missed opportunity with Ariel Pink and turning down Lady Gaga, which they've talked about plenty before, but we just had to get the explanation for ourselves because we're selfish like that. The video above, a Pop & Hiss exclusive, is one of a series of "behind the scenes" segments on the recording of the new album. This one takes place in Whitford’s recording studio and music room in Australia.

-- Margaret Wappler

So you've been heavily inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” album, as well as the Talking Heads and David Bowie for this new record. How did those influences make their way onto your new record?

It’s really just a matter of developing as a songwriter. I guess the idea of that percussive stuff and the soul stuff, particularly on "Young Americans," felt new and exciting. We were thinking about songwriting in a way that’s different from "In Ghost Colours." For one thing, this is probably the most time that we’ve spent just out in the world making a record. In the past, we've always had other things going on. I've worked as a graphic designer; Tim [Hoey] is a DJ; Mitchell [Scott] works in Web development. This time we focused on the art of making a record before anything else. We went off on more tangents, had the opportunity to take ideas to completion more. Inevitably, being a band isn’t the best way to pay the bills, but we don’t have to be concerned with other ways of making money as much anymore. We can be a bit more concerned with making music.

Cut Copy was just full of surprises during its recent two-night stand in L.A. After having the LAFD unceremoniously shut down a beyond sold-out gig at the Music Box @ Fonda on Tuesday night, the Australian dance mob wisely moved the whole operation to the much larger and more comfortable confines of the Club Nokia downtown for the second show.

Any danger and lawless excitement of the previous night’s proceedings was drastically muted by Club Nokia's plush “new car smell.” Still, Cut Copy and their able support acts worked just that much harder to fire up the impressive crowd, which packed the main floor all the way to the bar and well into the balcony.

Following an abbreviated concert after a visit from the fire marshal, concert promoter Goldenvoice has announced that the second night of Cut Copy's two-date stay has been moved from Hollywood's Henry Fonda Theatre to downtown's Club Nokia. The Australian dance act will perform tonight at 9. Additional tickets will be available at the door.

Ticketholders: Don't worry, your original ticket is still valid.

Tipped off by an anonymous phone call, three inspectors from the Los Angeles Fire Department's "nightclub unit" showed up at the Henry Fonda around 11 p.m., said Capt. Philip Ayala. After a quick survey of the theater and lobby, the venue was deemed overcrowded.

A message in an e-mail blast via the band's publicity firm Girlie Action read, "We're very sorry that the show last night was cut short. We were shut down because of capacity issues last night. In order to accommodate everyone tonight, we had to move to a bigger venue."