In the second of a two-part interview, Henry Dartnall of The Young Knives tells Tim Hughes why the office provides the perfect breeding ground for anger, neurosis and great music.

With songs about gossip, rumours, lies, rage, and the urge to pull a sicky' and escape, it comes as no surprise to hear The Young Knives take their inspiration from that bubbling cauldron of frustration - the office.

The Oxford band's songs are brutally honest, heartfelt and, above all, real. But they are often also neurotic snapshots of minds at breaking point.

"We write about what we know," says singer and guitarist Henry Dartnall. Take the song Here Comes the Rumour Mill - a story of alienation caused by "tall tales, cliques and whispers".

"It's about false power structures," explains Henry, who previously worked for a company at Milton Park, near Abingdon.

"If you are in a boring job and have someone imposing power on you, it is quite upsetting. It's about worrying too much about what people think about you."

And does that include him?

"It's hard not to give a monkey's about what people think about you. But it is cathartic to sing about it, and it keeps you in check."

For Henry, his brother Tom (known in the band as House of Lords' as no decision can be made without him) and old friend Oliver Askew, music is therapy.

"That's the whole point," says Henry.

"The funniest comedy is the most touching - and the same can be said for music."

And that essence of comedy runs through many of their songs, particularly the single She's Attracted To - an account of how badly things can go wrong when you don't get on with your partner's parents - culminating in a fight on the drive, with the lyric: "You were screaming at your mum and I was punching your dad!"

"It's about that road rage mentality," explains Henry.

"It's that irreconcilable anger people get in pointless situations - where you start to boil and can't do anything about it."

Despite all this punk tinged catharsis, TYK are a quintessentially English band - and have a keen eye for the quirky.

The sleeve of album Voices of Animals and Men carries a picture of a morris dancer, while their singles depict unlikely characters - such as a Robin Hood-like character shutting his garage and a bee-keeper in full costume standing in his front room.

"This interest in eccentric pastimes came about through living in the sticks," explains Henry, who previously lived in Kirtlington, near Bicester.

"We used to see things we didn't know anything about - like morris dancing.

"These things are not done for any great glory, but for enjoyment.

"Take bee-keeping; it is not an efficient way of getting honey - it's a love of what you are doing.

"We are interested in how these things fit in with modern life.

"And, like morris dancers, we are also anti-rock and roll!"

* New single The Decision is out now on 7in vinyl, CD or download, on Transgressive Records.