HE'S only 33, but Craig Nicholls of Sydney rock band The Vines has reached a new level of maturity.

Once upon a time an angrier Vines released a song called FTW (F--- The World). It didn't get too much radio attention back in 2003.

Eight years later Nicholls has revisited the song's theme for the band's fifth album, Future Primitive. This time it's called Screw The World.

"We're trying to be more mature," he says. "We're trying to say we still don't care about anything but maybe we're not going to swear about it now. This one we're hoping to get played on the radio. There's too many bleeps in FTW, so many F words.

"There's no swearing at all on this album, I think. Although those language warning stickers do look cool, like the ones you get on NWA albums ... You swear less when you grow up. Hopefully."

There is one other major change on the album (their first on a worldwide deal with Sony). Hip-hop head Chris Colonna, of Bumblebeez, is in the producer's seat, offering some sonic updates.

"We messed around with the songs more," guitarist Brad Heald says. "There was more post production than usual. Chris had the synth knowledge to make some crazy noises."

"It's nice to add some strange things," Nicholls says, "but you can still hear the songs."

Nicholls is no stranger to strangeness. For a while The Vines were more famous for not playing - aborted and cancelled shows - than playing.

After he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, ailing health saw touring on the band's last two albums become sporadic. However, after a Big Day Out jaunt this year, Nicholls insists he's ready to tour the world again.

"I feel great, really positive," he says. "When we did the first two albums were were playing so much - when you're doing so many shows they can't all be great and at times it didn't feel right.

"You entertain yourself, you end up crawled up in the corner of the stage screaming when you're meant to be doing a ballad. It's a lot more controlled now. For me as the singer, I'm getting better at that, better at getting the words across."

The car-crash factor at gigs is also absent.

"I'm sure the people that came for the car crash left a long time ago," Heald says. "Most people are there for the right reasons."

Nicholls says: "I hope they don't want to see something bad. But you can't promise to be perfect."

With the band back in form, they're keen to reclaim the success they had on their first and second albums in the UK and US.

"I have been boasting about that," Nicholls says. "We played the MTV Awards in America. That was a crazy night. We did the (US) Rolling Stone cover - I was bragging that I don't think there's been an Australian band on there since us. We feel like we opened some doors."

HEAR Future Primitive (Sony) out tomorrow