I'm sat outside eating lunch and it’s not even summer yet – amazing! Chargrilled vegetables and cous cous...

A man of fine taste! So how is 'Cry It All Out' a departure from the first album?
It's definitely sadder! It's only rock n roll but more heartfelt this time, not just ideas over beats. The first was a funky groove with a few rambles over it, this is harder rock with big guitar hooks and weepy choruses.

Which tracks on the new record are you especially proud of?
'She Drinks Whiskey,' which as Lewis (drummer) said, it's about a girl, it's flattering and loving without descending into cheese! It's got really bluesy production. 'Smiling' is a weird Pixies like tune. I wrote it in 6 minutes, which everyone says and I always think is bollocks but it really happened! 'What's Wrong With Lucy?' is about a friend of my ex's – she’s straight from Essex, there's something not quite right... like a mystery disaster girl!

 

How long have you been playing the harmonica and is it an endangered instrument?
Good question! I started at 13, my mates went shoplifting in a music shop and filled their baggy trousers! A whole set of harmonicas worth £30 each, people would blow in and out but I got to keep them! It's a really pigeonholed instrument, for trite blues tunes, but I like to play hip hop harmonica! I want to do more harmonica solo tracks.

Is 'dancing in the face of adversity' the power of music?
Definitely, dancing, you lose yourself. I might have shit to get out but people don't notice every lyric or every note - it might be a tune about me and my bad day but its two way pain relief!

Jonathan Ross said of your music, 'I can't decide if I love it or it upsets me...'
It might have been the first time he heard us, I don't mind it, I don't want to join Keane or anything but people always hear us and go, 'I like it but what is it?'

How do you think the UK music scene is progressing?
A month ago I'd have said there's no hope - I can't take another ten years of Coldplay soft rock sound-a-likes! But Jamie T, Just Jack and Duke Special are putting out great stuff, it's all just started! Larrikin Love with their kids' buzz of loony reggae - thank goodness!

BIG STRIDES' 'CRY IT ALL OUT' IS OUT NOW (TALL ORDER)