At this years In The City in Manchester it seemed whoever we spoke to about what's going on and who we should see, everyone was talking about this band. We went down to their packed out show at The Ruby Lounge and were absolutely blown away by their tight, cleverly constructed math-like guitar lines. Front man Duncan's vocal, which in my opinion is the perfect combination of accessibility and flair, coupled with some interesting dance moves topped off one of our favourite shows of the weekend. Since then we reviewed both their EP's here with 4.5/5 beards. When I heard they were playing at St.Philips Church, Salford I was ready and raring to go. However, due to the recent lapse in the good old English weather and the fact I drive around in a car made in 1982 (that would struggle to move in a temperature controlled garage), the chances of making it were nil. Luckily, thanks to the wonders of the interma'web we still managed to go ahead with the interview. Here's what front man Duncan typed back to us using his fingers:

You have a very low BBA 'Band Beard Average', is there a reason for the lack of facial ruggedness?

That's quite a sensitive subject, but, despite the chin-stroking qualities our music may sometimes achieve, its not a complimentary accessory to a silk shirt. I also find that our attitudes tend to get quite sloppy towards work when we miss out on a few shaves. Mutton chops however, are quite agreeable.

You signed to a German label for your first album, how did that come about?

Very quickly. Our first gig was filmed for 'Channel M' and the video was mysteriously emailed to 'Tapete Records' and within 3 months we were recording in a warehouse in Hamburg... ridiculous.

Your sound is pretty eclectic, do you all have vast record collections? What are the artists/bands you all agree on? Any embarrassing ones?

We all have our own personal tastes, but I'd say that our tastes never get involved into our music until the last stages of recording and mixing. Myself, Pete and Andy are building a vinyl collection which aside from the charity shop fodder is modest but intense, and the others have spotify premium in their cars. We've always had 4/5 bands to agree on, at this time it's been: King Crimson, Talking Heads, Steve Reich, Field Music, XTC... but when we start writing again it'll change no doubt. There seems to be a lot of Hip Hop on the horizon of our influences and I'm really not sure how to feel about that...yet.

How would you describe your sound, and does it bother you being labelled as an Indie-Math band?

Genre labelling is just a joke these days. No one is Indie anymore, its a dirty word. For years now, Indie bands have been using the phrase 'pop' first. Then things such as 'Witch House' are absolutely meaningless. Just does our heads in. If someone asks us what we sound like I tend to say 'Guitar based music', its crap but at least no-ones jumping to any bands to compare you to straight away and more often than not it kills the conversation dead. But, if people want to call us Indie-Math then its their choice to do so....what ever happened to 'Dos-wave'?

What would you say has been the best moment you have shared as a band so far?

Most of us would say the 2 weeks we spent making our German LP/EP in Hamburg, and after the 4 months we've spent dodging in and out of our Salford studio, I'd agree that it was our most enjoyable time. Recording in the day on a top floor studio and spending your evenings drinking 'Astra' on the balcony watching hot air balloons take flight in the park, is a damn sight better than stolen weekends in a Salford basement in between tours.

You just played a gig at St.Philips in Salford, where did the idea come from to bring the extra instruments to the stage, and how did you feel it went? Unfortunately I missed it due to the snow and me owning a car thats older than I am!

The idea came simply from the album. We have so much more instrumentation going on this time round that the music was challenging us to try it out live. Luckily we had the friends and the facilities to do it quite easily, and we were just impressed at the fact we had a 15 song set, let alone the xylophone solos or the strings to pull it off. We couldn't be happier with the way it went, and the crowd was showing much love. It was a beast. If we could, we'd tour it.

Duncan, do you have to practice your dance moves? Were you always the star of the school disco?

I really don't. I've been in two minds about the dancing for a long time. I prefer to be at a piano, but can't look up from it yet. The only school disco I had I went with trained hip hop dancers/skater girls... excellent scenes.

Are you proud to be a Manchester based band? What does being a Manchester band mean to you?

Of course, there's obviously a rich heritage around here, and its great to contribute what we've done so far to it. I think many people round here would prefer us to call ourselves a Marple band though. It's not something we think about really, so we can't really divulge into its meanings just yet. We need to be in a more contemplative position to comment.

How did the remixes of 'Ink' come to fruition, do you know the producers personally or was it something setup by a third party?

Everyone who's remixed us is a personal friend, luckily Manchester has a lot of great young minds that we have the pleasure of knowing, and our touring friendships have resulted in remixes by Dolby Anol and we've also been given the opportunity to remix Bombay Bicycle Club and The Futureheads. Its all good in the gig circuit 'hood.

How's the recording of the album coming along, have we any ideas what its going to be called yet or is that top secret?

Its finished I think? It's just the miraculous ball-ache of mixing that we will endure over Christmas that is left. Unfortunately, there is no album title to report yet. Nor is there artwork. It'll all come at once, I hope.

If the world was to end tomorrow what one thing would you tell our readers to go out and do?

Shave? Or at least shave something humorous, it's only for one day.

Well there you have it ladies and gentle peeps, I was going to finish this piece by saying you can catch them at the last show of the year at the HIFI club in Leeds, but thanks to the goddamn snow they have cancelled. The boys will be touring early next year check the dates here, but before then i suggest you go out and buy their music and wait eagerly for the arrival of the new album.