Tim Hughes steps into the brash, hedonistic and badly-behaved world of Iglu & Hartly.

HARD partying Californians Iglu & Hartly can’t help landing themselves in trouble.

Take last year’s South By Southwest festival in Texas, when frontman Jarvis Anderson found himself in police custody after attempting to play the piano.

A little harsh, you might think. Except that Jarvis was half-naked and the piano was in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in Austin.

And then there was their run-in with Take That. Finding themselves on an extended stay in London during their 2008 European tour, the Los Angeles lads hired a flat in an apartment block… which just happened to be used by Gary Barlow and the boys during an extended recording session at a local studio.

“We were living in an apartment trapped between them,” says Jarvis, talking from his home in LA’s Little Mexico. “We were in a Take That sandwich!”

“They were recording in a studio over the road, and they said we were disturbing them. Our bassist accidentally kicked in their door twice, too, so they got us booted out.

“It was a pretty crazy time,” he adds. “We were partying every night. But you do get branded by a few incidents.”

It’s hard to know how much of their frat-brat bad behaviour is an act. While clearly they like to party, Jarvis comes across as thoughtful, driven and hard-working. The band’s world tour saw them playing 120 shows in 17 countries in 150 days.

Branded one of the “20 bands making America cool again”, by the NME, they are distinguished by their incendiary live shows. But Jarvis would be the first to admit that not everyone is convinced by their sexually-charged rap-pop.

“Most Europeans seemed to like us,” he says. “It was a blast in places like Norway, Denmark and Holland. Though France didn’t really get us, to be honest. Germany, meanwhile, was so-so for us, though the people there are SO nice.”

“When I write I try to talk to people in a way which carries a serious message but is delivered in a light hearted style. It’s a unique take on music and there’s a lot of bravado, which can turn some people away.

“Some perceive us as being cocky, but I don’t think so. I don’t wear a shirt on stage, and some people probably think, ‘oh, he thinks he’s really cool!’”.

So why does he take his shirt off, then? “Because it’s really hot!”

This month Iglu and Hartly (the name is a combination of Jarvis and bandmate Sam Martin’s previous stage names) return to the UK. And they can’t wait. “We love London,” Jarvis says excitedly. “It’s like a second home; it’s awesome.

“There’s a spirit of camaraderie which comes out through music. And you guys have a lot of pretty girls.”

Ah yes; girls. It’s no surprise that the band’s most ardent fans are of the fairer sex.

The front rows are almost exclusively reserved for the most ferocious… with a somewhat less than demure Jarvis stoking the flames by ripping his top off.

The band’s route to fame hints at the future of rock. Instead of simply relying on scaling the singles charts they have earned recognition in a more 21st century style – their anthem In this City was used as the theme tune for Match Of The Day’s Goal of the Month, and featured on the computer basketball game NBA 2K. Their tune Violent and Young, features on video game Dirt 2.

So, away from the headline grabbing, what’s their secret? “We are progressive,” says Jarvis after a thoughtful pause. “We don’t fit into any category.

“We have the attitude of always doing what we want to do, because you only have one life… and we like to get our rocks off!”

Iglu & Hartly play the Oxford O2 Academy on January 31. Tickets are £8.