Favourite New Band – Titus Andronicus. They released their debut album at the start of 2009 and it is my joint favourite record (with The Reigning Sound) of the year, T.A. are noisier, smarter and better than nearly every other band, in fact they are almost as good as us.

Best Gig – Elvis Suicide – we played some awesome shows this year (including Stag and Dagger, The Edinburgh Festival and supporting our fave new band Titus Andronicus) but the best gig was in Edinburgh supporting Cuddly Shark at Henry’s Cellar Bar. I had to let the old line up of T.E.S. go in the summer and was really pleased with the new recruits, but any band worth their salt gets better over a couple of gigs. Since that Edinburgh show the boys have been firing on all cylinders, they rock harder, they roll smoother and they have become so good, that we have banned pregnant women from the shows, lest the foetus does a powerslide down the birth canal.

Best Gig – Other – The Specials at the Academy, my knees were sore from an hour and a half of constant skanking and my face was sore from constant smiling, a joyous occasion.

Best Memories of 2009 – some great reviews for our EP, some great gigs and we got to meet some cool people, being in a band is pretty fucking awesome, to be honest.