Pete and the Pirates - bohemian buccaneers

Pete and the Pirates won fans at last year's Reading Festival by serenading them in their tents. Elisa Bray meets an oddball bunch

Of all the new bands playing last summer's festivals, Pete and the Pirates caught they eye with storming sets. At their hometown gig at Reading, the quintet sought out pirate flags in the camping area and played impromptu sets. It's not the most obvious way to win fans, but then Pete & The Pirates are a bit of a misfit gang – even among themselves.

Gathered in an east London pub, the five bandmates can't agree on the sound of their debut album Little Death. The singer, Tom Sanders, muses: "It's different from our live shows. It's got more of a polished feel to it. I was personally scared of having an album that ended up sounding really pop. If I recorded it myself it would be much filthier, but we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot – both feet – if we did that."

But guitarist David Thorpe says: "It sounds dirtier than I thought it was going to. Not as clean." Singer and guitarist Pete Hefferan adds: "It's fair to say we disagree quite a lot as a band, which is part of the fun."

Perhaps that's why the album is full of genre-spanning tracks. "Knots", "She Doesn't Belong to Me" and "Come on Feet" are raucous indie punk; "Eyes Like Tar" and "Lost In the Woods" are tender and emotive, with Sanders breaking into a vulnerable falsetto.

The band met at their Reading school in their late teens. They spent summer 2002 playing together at Thorpe's house, recording each other's songs. "Then, suddenly, we were a band because we'd got a gig and a name. That's how it all started," Hefferan says. That first gig was at Reading Town Hall.

The band still work the same way, each bringing a song – structure, chords, bassline, lyrics – to the others and letting it evolve. "We never jam, ever – I loathe that whole way of writing," Sanders says.

Ambition was never part of the plan but, as drummer Jonny Sanders, Tom's brother, points out, Reading is "not a particularly ambitious music scene". But, in 2005, a label wanted to sign them, and Stolen Recordings' credentials were perfect. Like all Stolen's artists (Mathew Sawyer & The Ghosts, Screaming Tea Party), the Pirates do their own album artwork. Jonny, who studied moving image design, creates the scratchy, intricate drawings. "Jonny's drawing is part of our image," says bassist Pete Cattermoul. "There's a parallel between the music and the art; you have to have a second look."

Stolen is one of few labels to self-package CDs in beautifully crafted handmade, stamped sleeves. "You can understand why people are sick of paying £15 for a plastic-case CD," says Hefferan. Jonny adds: "[Record companies] will spend £150,000 on a video, which is a waste of money; they could put it into far more appealing areas."

Tom adds: "Stolen have a great sense of integrity. I trust them. I think we both acknowledged that we're in it for the music. We can persuade them to do anything." The band convinced Stolen at the last minute that "Mr Understanding", their most radio-friendly single, should be included on the CD, pushing it over budget.

Grassroots fans are important; the band have almost 400,000 on MySpace. "It means so much when someone says 'I loved your gig' or 'I love your records'," Tom says.

In spite of the Reading factor, they do have personal ambitions. For Jonny Sanders, it's learning to play "really fast big swingy big-band drums". And when Hefferan says: "I want to go to America," they all get starry-eyed. Touring America – that they do agree on, and it might not be too far off.

Pete & The Pirates support the Pigeon Detectives at Brixton Academy, London SW9 (0844 477 2000), tonight and tomorrow; 'Little Death' is out now on Stolen Recordings