Sheffield four-piece the Crookes are understandably pretty enthusiastic about their first jaunt out to America, the youthful indie-poppers coming across as bright and chirpy as the '60s inspired indie-pop they produce. Spinner talked with them shortly before their departure for SXSW.

Describe your sound.

Superficially happy. Probably a bit sadder the deeper you delve. But it's certainly pop music.

How did your band form?

We all met as English Literature students at the University of Sheffield, but soon started writing songs together instead of doing the work we were supposed to be doing.

What are your musical influences?

To be specific -- and to avoid writing a ridiculously long list -- our main influences are '60s girl groups such as the Ronettes and the Shirelles, plus '80s bands such as Aztec Camera and Orange Juice. As Literature students, our music and lyrics are often inspired by kitchen-sink literature such as things like 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.' Books and authors definitely have a big influence on us.

How did you come up with your band name?

It was very lazy, for a while we lived in a Sheffield suburb called Crookes, so we just called it after that. In retrospect we probably should have put more thought into it. I feel it gives entirely the wrong impression of us.

What's in your festival survival kit?

We always carry a football to challenge other bands with -- not sure how we'd get that on the plane to SXSW though!

What's your guilty musical pleasure?

At the moment, Lady Gaga.

What's the craziest thing you've seen on tour?

I don't really know. We're quite sensible. I once gave a homeless man money, then he offered to give it back to me when he saw we were living in the back of a transit van. That was more a low point, rather than being really crazy.　　

Beatles or Stones?

The Beatles, a thousand times.

Is this your first time playing in America?

Yes, and we are naturally stupidly excited.　

What are you hoping to gain from playing SXSW?

I guess some exposure. Our tour manager also looks after the Decemberists, so I think some of them may come to a showcase. We're going to try and wrangle a support tour. I'm also just really looking forward to going as a music fan. I've just read that Ray Davies is doing a show somewhere -- I'm definitely prepared to queue for that one.