How are you and what have you been up to recently?
We have been writing our second record and watching the second, third and fourth series of the American version of The Office. We have been playing the odd gig to try out some new songs and we go on tour from 15 June. Same old same old really.

What are the five albums that have most influenced you?
The Queen is Dead - The Smiths, Monday at The Hug and Pint - Arab Strap, Hi How Are You - Daniel Johnston, Friends/20/20 - The Beach Boys, The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones.

What is the best concert you have ever been to?
I think your first gig is something that you don’t forget and it was Idlewild at The Barrowlands in Glasgow. Also the first time I saw Mogwai and Sonic Youth was pretty special.

If you could have been a musician in any era when would it be?
I know our drummer would say the nineties because he is a Britpop fanatic. We were at a party with our friends and the morning after we all got woke up by Mark listening to Be Here Now, probably one of the worst albums ever. For me it would be the eighties because I am a big fan of legwarmers.

What is the best gig you have ever performed?
We went on tour with Beirut and we were in Copenhagen at a place called The Vega. I was a big fan of Beirut before the tour and when we heard they asked for us to support them I was pretty excited. We played a half hour set and I thought we played really well, then Zach from Beirut asked me to sing with them on three songs so that was pretty cool.

Have you ever played a show when everything has gone completely wrong?
Andy our guitarist blows up quite a lot of amps, so that’s usually not good. There have been quite a few bad ones to be honest. Things like sound guys off their face while using a sound desk that had been at a festival the week before and was damaged due to the rain.

What books have you read and films have you seen recently?
I went to see that new Indiana Jones film and it was the biggest pile of shite I have ever seen. I enjoyed Iron Man because it had everything that you want from a big budget film and Robert Downey Jnr was great in it. I am reading a book called Hunger by Knut Hamson. It’s pretty heavy.

If not a musician, what job would you have had in the real world?
My uncle runs a bakery so I would probably ask him for a job. I studied film at college before things started happening for the band so I would have liked to have taken that further.

Do you prefer playing live or recording in the studio?
They are totally different experiences and I enjoy both in different ways. I think when you spend a lot of time in the studio all you want to do is get out there and play the songs. When you’re off touring for a while all you want to do is to go into the studio and record some new stuff. So it balances itself out.

Any burning ambitions?
To be on Ready Steady Cook, that’s no joke! I would like to work in film at some point and write something apart from lyrics. But to be honest I am very lazy and that probably won't happen