The Zincs.

THE ZINCS James Elkington might just be the most charismatic man in indie rock; tall, good-natured, and above all, British. His Morrissey posturing by way of Sea and Cake flourishes proved perfect fodder for Chicago's Thrill Jockey Records, and when Elkington migrated to the Midwest the pairing was inevitable. On his newest record, Black Pompadour, Elkington teamed up with Tortoise's John McEntrie and assembled an all-star cast to flesh out his gothic overtones. The band, which includes Nathaniel Braddock (Ancient Greeks), Nick Macri (Euphone, Sunny Day Real Estate), and Jason Toth (Edith Frost), helped elevate the songs from UK sketches to Chicago masterpieces. The Windy City has a new spokesman, and he has an accent. How charming is that?

Did you skate?

Yes and no. In my early teens I thought I was a pretty good skater, until a kid who lived up the street had a quarterpipe erected in his garden. It then became apparent to everyone that all I could do was skate in a straight line quite fast. I couldn't go anywhere near the quarterpipe with- out being in serious danger of breaking my back.

Talk about being a Brit living in Chicago. When did you move?

I moved here in 1999, but I'd been visiting for about a year before. I'd always been a huge fan of Chicago bands and labels, so it was great for me to be able to get more personally involved with the music I'd been listening to. I lived in London for nearly a decade and played in bands there, but I found the Chicago musical community comparatively small and inviting, which spurred me to start writing and singing my own songs. And I like the weather here.

Not to be too cliched, but how hard is it to find a good cup of tea?

It would be a cliche if it weren't for the fact that I drink four cups a day. I don't go looking for good tea in the same way that an American wouldn't go looking for a good sandwich in London. It's not that its unavailable--the good stuff is here if you want it--but I'm fine with the regular Tetley. I can reveal to you, however, that the Twinings and Tazo bags don't have enough tea in them to make a decent brew to put milk in. You have to use two bags, but I wouldn't advise going into a tea shop and asking for a "double tea-bagging." You'll get arrested.

Starting out a rock band, you have to imagine that you have a charming lineage to live up to. Were you a fan of the pretty-boy front men like Rod Stewart or Jagger?

Not really. I didn't do much singing until I started this band, so I don't feel that I related that much to singers; although, I did have a special reverence as a teenager for David Bowie, Ian McCulloch, and Morrissey, all of whom I considered to be real singers, and somewhat pretty. I was actually more influenced by those singers that started out in one musical capacity and ended up in another, like John Cale and Robert Wyatt.

What do you consider to be the Chicago sound? For some time Sea and Cake and Tortoise pretty heavily colored it, but I don't think that's the case any longer.

I remember the first Tortoise record as being something of a watershed for a lot of people in the UK, too; Marshalls were sold, singers were fired, and vibraphones were plundered. I think those bands had cast quite a shadow across Chicago, but not in a bad way--it was more a benevolent shadow. Anyway, I loved those bands and I think that they did a tot to raise the bar for Chicago bands and are still making great records. Their contributions will always be part of the musical scenery here, but they don't dominate in the way they did in the mid-'90s, and that's probably good for everyone.

I ask because Black Pompadour truly feels like a Chicago record to me. Partly because of the production and artwork, but also because it's hard to put in a box, which to me is part of the Chicago charm.

I think that the record is a product of its environment rather than having any conscious Chicago-ness to it. I feel more like Thrill Jockey wouldn't be working with us if we sounded too much like their other bands; although, like most decent labels, they don't really have a sound but an ideology, and maybe we fit more with that. I thought John (McEntire) would be great for this album because his recordings rarely sound anything like his recordings from 10 years ago, and I wanted his take on what, to me, seems like a fairly straight pop record.

Hugh Grant, take him or leave him?

He's okay. Lovable if pointless export, I suppose. I think he fulfilled that need for a sexy Prince Charles that Americans wanted until Prince William got to drinking age.