The best thing about interviewing Young Legionnaire is one need not bother asking all that guff about musical influences.

What were you listening to while you wrote it? Who do you love? I think I hear so and so in your music, who do you hear?

Bass player Gordon Moakes, who made his name with uptight mid-noughties indie band Bloc Party, has handily penned a piece on the group’s website listing the ten albums that inspired Crisis Works.

“I can pretty much guarantee The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers is on there,” says Moakes’s band mate, Paul Mullen, the Young Legionnaire singer and guitarist, who, despite knowing his colleague’s taste inside out, was unaware the list had been written.

“If he has missed off In Utero by Nirvana, he’s in trouble.”

After nearly six years of strain and energy to produce their debut album, the two have forged quite a bond. Mullen may forgive Moakes for missing the grunge classic off his top ten.

Mullen agrees Fabric’s Body Of Water is “golden”. So, too, At The Drive-In’s Relationship Of Command and Botch’s We Are The Romans.

Other records Moakes references as having had an impact on the genesis of Crisis Works, released in May, are Part Chimp’s I Am Come, Deftones’ Saturday Night Wrist, Future Of The Left’s Travel’s With Myself And Another, and Grammatics’ Grammatics.

He also cites yourcodenameis:Milo’s Ignoto, which is probably the most relevant touchstone for Young Legionnaire because Milo (currently on hiatus), along with Welsh rockers The Automatic, are Mullen’s other band.

The Young Legionnaire sound reflects Mullen’s former day job more than Moakes’s. It’s at the heavy end of indie rock, with crushing riffs and lots of melody.

“We listen to a lot of hardcore and post-hardcore, says Mullen.

“We’ve got mates who are in those bands – Pulled Apart By Horses, Les Savy Fav – we’ve kept in touch, but I don’t know whether we’re part of that scene. We try to keep ourselves to ourselves.”

Moakes says it was Fabric who opened his ears to the idea heavy music didn’t just have to be aggressive, that “it could be full of amazing hooks and layered melodies and be completely absorbing”.

Fabric’s Body Of Water (“Really literate and intelligent”) features an Anne Sexton poem put to music. Those with keen ears may even spot the voice of Anne Sexton on Crisis Works.

The two first met working on another Yourcodenameis:Milo side project, Print Is Dead, in 2006. The project paid homage to mix tapes. Milo recorded 12 collaborations in 12 days.

“Print Is Dead was designed to be quick – write, record and mix a song in 12 hours.”

Thus the two never became precious about recording. They were perfectly placed to squeeze Young Legionnaire between other commitments.

Despite losing original drummer William Bowerman back to his day job keeping La Roux in time, and Mullen having to divide his time between Cardiff, his native Sunderland and London, Young Legionnaire are about to embark on their first headline tour, which opens in Brighton tonight.

Now the ball is finally rolling, a new five-track EP is scheduled for an October release. It features new drummer Dean Pearson, who joined last year.

Despite all the connections, Mullen, feet firmly on the ground, is just enjoying playing music.

“We’re not a supergroup. We’re a band. We’re a rock band.”

* £7, doors 7pm, call 01273 749465