Polly And The Billets Doux return to The Basement at City Screen

"We've played there for three or four years now,and I like it as it has a low ceiling, which is quite unusual," says lead singer Polly Perry. "It feels like an underground place that you shouldn't be in."

Nevertheless, it is a place you should be in on Tuesday when Polly returns there, with the possibility, but not probability of brand new songs to follow up last July's album Money Tree. "There's new material on the way, though I'm not sure if we're going to play any of it," she says. "Most of it is just jamming at the moment; jamming riffs and me improvising lyrics."

One new number is complete, however: the single Tourniquet, released through Genepool Records. "It was written by our drummer, Ben [husband Ben Perry], who wrote Back To Earth on one of our previous albums," says Polly. "When he started writing it, it was about when you're trying to get someone and you're struggling, as it's super-hard, but he then changed it to being about the moment when information is available to us and we have to syphon it through what's real and what's not real."

As for the Tourniquet title: "Again, that's Ben's thoughts from his original reason for writing the song: the idea of being held captive by something," says Polly.

The band will take advantage of their spring travels to make a promo video for the single. "We'll try to somewhere on tour, looking for interesting locations to make a tour video," says Polly.

She acknowledges the increasing importance of not only promo videos but also social media in spreading the word about a band, but says: "I have to hold my hands up and say that on my part I'm not good at it. I'm too busy having fun, but I'm also hyper-careful about words being misinterpreted.

"If I'm writing a song, it takes me forever because I'm so self-critical, as once words are written down, they're permanent...though you can be too careful!"

Words are all important in billets doux, of course, and should you be wondering what inspired the band name, here is Polly's explanation. "It comes from a poem by Alexander Pope called The Rape Of The Lock, where there's a description of a lady's dressing table," she says.

Beginning life as a two piece with Ben on drums and Polly on double bass and vocals, the line-up was completed when their Winchester flatmates Dan Everett and Andrew 'Steeny' Steen left the rock band The Bullycats and two became four, and gradually their music has grown darker. Where might they progress next? "I think we want to play with completely different rhythms. Dan really loves African rhythms and then exploding into a big guitar solo, and we're also interested in avant-garde and experimental music, bringing an edge to it," says Polly.

If there is a connected theme to Polly And The Billets Doux's songs, travelling and hardship feature prominently. Why? "We're always broke, so it's about people struggling through life but being all right," says Polly. "They're ultimately optimistic."

Please Please You presents Polly And The Billets Doux, The Basement, City Screen, York, Tuesday, 8pm. Box office: thebasementyork.co.uk