As far as songs go, The White House is stunning and captivating in both its musical scope and emotional depth. The incredible choral anthem from Wellyn's debut album, An Intimate Universe, features 23 vocalists with each contributing two or three parts. The enlisted group of Melbourne singers – whom lead singer and guitarist, Nedd Jones had previous musical associations with – laid down their vocals in his bedroom before the band recorded them in the studio. The song's key lyric "Look at your walls/You're made of money but can your shoes walk without you" is rendered all the more powerful by the huge ensemble of voices. Jones explains the song's underlying inspiration.

"At the time, I was living in this really nice apartment," Jones relates, "with really clean white walls, and it was just a little bit too nice and a bit too clean for what I'm used to. That was kind of the white house, and it's about searching for something that you think you want and then finding out that you don't want it.

"I went to high school with this guy who always had lots of basketball shoes," he giggles, "I don't know if that line 'can your shoes walk without you' is directly linked to that, but it's just a bit about materialistic values and that sort of thing."

The Melbourne band first formed in 2003, but as Jones explains, it was very different back then. "It's taken five years for it to get where it is now with the line-up changes." Numerous musicians played in Wellyn before the core line-up was formed a few years ago; all of whom play in other bands/projects (Matt Quinn – Clinkerfield and touring member of SubAudible Hum; Justin Rudge – Austin Floyd; Peter Spark – Till James and Blackchords; Peter Uhlenbruch – Owls of the Swamp).

The final line-up, says Jones, came together between 2006/07. "With Joel [Griffith] and Jimmy [Stewart] playing in SubAudible Hum and Clinkerfield, respectively, and both bands having a bit of success, they found it a bit tough to do both," he confirms. "So we formed a new line-up and it's kind of turned out really well. I think the line-up is the strongest that it's been. I feel really lucky to be playing with the guys that are in the band at the moment."

Jones describes the recording process of An Intimate Universe as "a really enjoyable time, but it just took so long". Jones was the only one financing it: "Each day in the studio took about a month for me to save up for," he informs. "I think we were just in there for 15 days, but it just got spread over about a year and a half, with the money side of things. So the actual time we spent in there with [producer/engineer] Finn Keane (Wilco, Oasis, Franz Ferdinand) was just really good times. And I think the end result is pretty good – I'm pretty happy after all this time."

In fact, the epic vision, ethereal melodies and stirring emotive power invoked by their songs point towards a band that's reaching further than most local indie bands. "Yeah, we're pretty ambitious," Jones affirms. "I guess it's just there, I haven't thought about it too much," he giggles.

The singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist possesses a remarkable voice that centres as the most distinct and affecting element of their alternative indie-folk. "I was playing piano with my older brother from when I was about five years old, and then I think when I was about ten, I started singing a little bit – did a few Boyz II Men covers on the piano. I didn't sing for a few years after that, but then I think I was just getting drunk with a bunch of guys and we sung Stairway To Heaven, and they were like 'oh, you have a really nice voice'," he says, laughing. "So I think little things like that kind of point you into that direction."

Wellyn's lyrics contain a deep melancholy, which has seen them described as 'funeral pop'. In Alcoholic Tea, Jones sings: "You can go out hiding and listening to your daydreams by the clear water that you always talk to/'Cause it has listened for a thousand years and cried so many sympathetic tears with you". I ask Jones whether he finds more meaning when delving into those darker areas. "Yeah, I've always been attracted to, I guess, sort of what you'd called depressing art," Jones muses, "rather than happy art, if that makes sense? I've always been mesmerised by sad songs…it's something that I kind of have to fight and make sure that I don't get too lost in the whole kind of sad and depressed way of things. But hopefully, there's a nice balance on the record and that it shows."

The frontman names Elbow, Augie March and various local bands as influences on their debut album. Jones came up with the album title, An Intimate Universe, halfway through the recording process. "I came up with some shocking names; I just got laughed at pretty much all of them in the studio. I think that was the only one that everyone didn't hate, so it kind of stuck," he laughs. "For me, a lot of the songs just have so many instruments and different parts that I think that's kind of the universe side of it, and then the lyrics could be more like the intimate side of it."

Jones is looking forward to their album launch at the Northcote Social Club, but a week before the launch, he's wearing a plaster cast on one arm. "I was playing football and broke my finger," he relates. "I just got surgery so I'm a bit nervous that the cast won't be off in time. I'm supposed to see the doctor on Tuesday to find out."

However, Jones is unfazed by the injury and is adamant that he'll be performing on the night regardless of the doctor's verdict. "I'd probably just rip the plaster off anyway," he insists, "and play with my good fingers on the night."