Good Shoes are a music journalist's dream, with their name providing unlimited quips and puns to compliment their glowing reviews. Since they shut themselves away in a recording studio in Sweden to polish off their debut album, catching up with them is a hard task but, via cryptic messages and carrier pigeons, Notion managed to have a chat with the group's lead singer and main spokesman, Rhys.

Since meeting at school and forming a band, brothers Rhys and Tom Jones and friends Steve Leach and Joel Cox have heard every footwear joke going. "One of my mates said he was going to start a band called Good Shoes and I said: 'No, you're not. I am'," laughs Rhys. "I wear old brown leather brogues, but that's not relevant. You know it would be a good thing if reviewers concentrated on the music rather than listing as many shoe puns as possible." He sighs, blatantly bored with the endless questions concerning his choice of sole.

Putting the shoe gags aside; Good Shoes have emerged onto the scene encapsulating everything that makes our indie saturated music world good. It's all here... Arctic Monkeys-style gritty suburban tales set in UK towns? Check. ('Drunken fools singing 80s tunes /they'll be singing out of tune saying/Get the foreigners out of my area'). The directness and bold swagger of Razorlight? Check. ('I'm a good shag, but I find nobody fit'). The paranoid mind of The Kooks? Check. ('It’s all in my head'). Now add a small streak of melancholy from The Cure and a thick layer of The Futureheads' jerky indie pop and we're almost there. "I suppose the music we first started making sounded a bit like The Strokes or The Libertines, but it kind of developed into our own sound. It's a bit of a cliché to say it now, but when The Strokes came out it was a bit of a revelation really. That's when I realised there was more to music than what you're spoon-fed by. I guess we write about what we know, but what else can you write about?"

In their early days, Good Shoes could have been seen as the B&Q of the music industry. A true D.I.Y band with a shed doubling up as a recording studio and practice area, home-made badges and former art school student Rhys designing all of the band's artwork. Although they have moved on from the shed to a recording studio belonging to songwriter and producer Tore Johansson (famed for his work with The Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand’s first album), Rhys still creates the colourful art that adorns Good Shoes' record sleeves, whilst Joel is in charge of their videos. "I think it’s great to be in control of what goes on the CD," Rhys says. "It's cool to get something you create back and it looks good. I had a vision of the artwork... and having the whole single come together over a couple of months really is nice."

Being one of the first signings to Brille Records (also home to The Knife, Envelopes and Whirlwind Heat), could have been a risky move but the boys are revelling in having a free reign over their music. "Yeah it's been pretty crazy," Rhys admits. "I guess that when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t think about it. We chose to sign to them because they're pretty cool guys who run it and the other bands on the label are just really cool bands. It's been so easygoing, being able to do whatever artwork you want and deciding with them what singles should come out. There are people I know who are just told what to do."

With their home town of Morden being the last stop on the Northern Line, Good Shoes are automatically qualified to be part of the new wave of London based talent along with Jamie T, Larrikin Love and the Mystery Jets. But despite counting the latter as a major inspiration, Rhys doesn't quite see it that way. "We never really go out to the obvious scene-type hang-outs. When I'm not playing gigs I tend to hang around with my mates who I've known all my life. I don't tend to want to be a part of that whole scene thing to be honest, but it's an exciting time. Definitely when compared to Britpop. To see it now feels like the late 70s or early 80s when there were bands and scenes all over the country."

Doing their bit for the recent dance and indie crossover trend, Good Shoes are running a side project remixing material from fellow bands. Their spin off myspace.com site (www.myspace.com/goodshoesremix) dedicated to their reworking of indie tunes sees Good Shoes' Joel and Steve giving Maximo Park's 'Stay' an entirely different sound, consisting of slowed down vocals with edgy electro bleeps and a beat that borders on techno. "We got asked by Maximo Park's management because they're friends with the people who run our record label, and if the truth be known, we're not really Maximo Park fans and we'd only remix songs we didn't particularly like in the first place."

So things are going from strength to strength for the quirky four, especially after touring with Texan mavericks Be Your Own Pet, who announced Good Shoes as their "favourite fucking band" at each gig. Along with that, what would they count as their best experience yet? "Signing is pretty amazing," recalls Rhys. "It's just that security and definitely knowing that you’re going to be releasing some material. When we got signed we got new equipment. We recently got new flight cases and Tom got a new drum kit and it's started to feel like a proper band."

Judging by the punchy anthems they produced previously, they always have been. Now with Rhys being called back to recording duties, there's nothing left for you to do but put your best foot forward and join the new music revolution.

THE SINGLE 'ALL IN MY HEAD' IS AVAILABLE NOW ON BRILLE.