Having time off isn’t something Tex Perkins can dig.

In a 30-year career, his exhaustive work ethic has been responsible for a prolific discography, a list of collaborators featuring the best in the Australian music biz, and a profile the subject of an award winning portrait. So he sees no reason to slow down now.

His latest record, 'Everyone's Alone', is set for release early next month, and although the vibe is slightly mellower than some of his past work he assures me he still feels the fire in his belly.

“I could do with more mellowing out,” he jokes. “The record really livens up about three quarters through. There are a few songs on there that are very spirited in fact; ‘A Real Job’ for instance is a nasty little groove. It’s pretty harsh for me, young fella!”

His gruff sense of humour is a trait present in both his music and conversation. And a trait his band, The Dark Horses, have undoubtably come to appreciate.

“Dark Horses have been the backing band for my solo project while I’ve done other things, but over the years the band has solidified and become a creature unto itself. It has its own sound and feel and identity and that’s what this record is more about — a full band feel and less of a singer-songwriter feel.”

The group started writing while touring the previous album and it took only six months to produce the finished record. But to Tex, that's not quick enough.

“I think we can get quicker,” he admits. “For me it’s about the making and doing, and the albums are evidence of that — evidence that we’ve been doing something. I plan to make a lot more music, because I feel the pressure more and more as I get older that this is what I’ve decided to do and I’d like to get good at it before I finish. I feel an urgency as I go on to not waste any time.”

Tex can be an unapologetic individualist; an artist prepared to roll the dice; a musical chameleon and comedian; but besides all of that stuff, he’s just a top bloke.

‘Everyone’s Alone’ is out November 2. Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses play The Zoo November 8.