The Datsuns are party animals. And they are proud of it.

After years of struggling to get noticed, the New Zealand rockers are enjoying their well-earned time in the limelight.

And, says frontman Dolf Datsun, there is no better place for living the rock and roll lifestyle than London - which is why the band swapped their sleepy Antipodean home for the rugged charms of Paddington.

"We do tend to have a few little soirees," said Dolf, still nursing a hangover after a rather heavy, and totally unplanned, bash the night before.

"These things turn out to be rather spontaneous. We say to people ' have a little drink' and then 20 people appear!

"It was a late night last night... I didn't get to sleep 'til dawn.

"There was a photo shoot in Shoreditch and we performed a free gig to get everyone in the mood... but it turned into an impromptu party."

The story of the Datsuns began nine years ago, with four hairy, sweaty kids making as loud a noise as possible in a bid to get noticed.

And it is that energy and youthful enthusiasm that propelled them way beyond the bars of rural New Zealand and onto some of the music world's bigger stages.

On Tuesday the boys roll into Oxford for a show at the Zodiac, to promote their new album Outta Sight/Outta Mind - a typically life-affirming slab of adrenaline-fuelled greasy rock and roll.

And if you thought their swaggering debutThe Datsuns and its anthems MF From Hell and Harmonic Generator was good, this one will knock your socks off - with that same energy and abandon being amplified to ridiculous heights.

Dolf says: "The first album was the sound of four guys dreaming about being a rock and roll band. This album is written by those four guys now they're in a band, living and breathing it."

And "living it" they most certainly are.

"We've been in a band for nine years, so the list of highlights is long and sordid," says Dolf. "We have certainly enjoyed the stuff we are doing.

"We were a cult underground band in New Zealand playing to 200 people and they loved it. Now we play in London to 2,000 people and they love it!"

"We are doing things we never thought we'd do. Having a career in music in New Zealand doesn't happen."

But living a rock and roll lifestyle does have its pitfalls. "There are moments where it's like Spinal Tap." he says, referring to the cult rock movie.

"There are things that are embarrassing and you ask yourself 'good grief why did that happen?' and there are other moments when you reconsider what you're doing."

Among the more embarrassing moments are getting lost in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios while en-route to a much anticipated Peel session.

But Dolf insists The Datsuns are still an overwhelmingly live band -- whatever the consequences. "We all love rock and roll," he says. "Our music should be experienced live on stage.

"You don't get time to recreate the moment; you just put yourself on the line."

Tuesday's Zodiac show (August 17), which follows a sold-out mash-up at the Shepherds Bush Empire earlier this year, is a rare chance to catch the band in intimate surroundings. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are £11 in advance.