Mysterious minimalist rock duo Shi Yi plays so infrequently that you probably didn’t notice that the band had been on hiatus the last few months due to singer-drummer Erika Petro’s broken foot. That’s okay, though, as the moody tunes Petro and guitarist Scott Russell penned for their self-titled debut play just as intoxicatingly creepy and carnal on that dusty turntable in your darkest nook at home as they do in the dingiest punk dive in town.

Best local release other than yours

“Dirty Beaches’ Badlands. I think it’s just amazing. It’s a great album.”

The year’s best gig

“This one’s easy to answer. I saw Extreme Animals at Zoo Zhop [on July 15] and it blew my mind. They’re an art band. They’re part of an art collective called Paper Rad. They had these amazing, spazzy visuals of Miley Cyrus; they’re actually hard to describe. Musically, they had metal guitar and these really crisp, wicked beats.”

We’re road-tripping. Who’s on the stereo?

“Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III. That’s the one with ‘Lollipop’, though Scott and I are partial to ‘3 Peat’. It’s the essential driving album. It’s got everything; he [Lil Wayne] has kind of unleashed.”

The Straight’s paying, so where’s dinner?

“Well, if it’s on the Georgia Straight’s dime, then we would want to go to Hy’s Encore (637 Hornby Street). We would get steak, for sure, and they would be absolutely well-done. Burnt: that’s how we like it.”

Vancouver needs a sex-tape scandal. Who’s your co-star?

“How about Aja Emma from Cosmetics? We think she’s pretty sexy. She’s got great eyes.”

Jimmy Pattison’s fronting the money. Where are we opening a venue?

“I’d really like it to be the rooftop of the Shangri-La Hotel [1128 West Georgia Street]. We’ve never been up there, but we imagine it would be the ultimate luxury. It’s the tallest building in Vancouver, so it’d have a good view. It’d be hyper-bling.”