"We asked people on our website to send us compilation tapes for going on tour," says Gary Deveney.

"We're working our way through them and trying to work out how we fit in with our fans' musical tastes - where do we fit in between Bruce Springsteen and Gary Numan?"

The answer is, they don't. Veering from post-rock sea shanties to sweet and scratchy lo-fi, the only place My Latest Novel fit is between Arab Strap and Arcade Fire, though fans of fellow Scots Belle And Sebastian will also appreciate their penchant for strange little tales about nothing in particular.

Currently touring their debut album Wolves, which uniquely manages to combine a sense of swarthy melodrama with some thoroughly breezy folk melodies, this multi-instrumental fivepiece are all residents of Greenock, a picturesque town about 25 miles west of Glasgow where there "really isn't anything to do so you have to hire out a practice room five days a week".

Their career took off when they played Manchester's In The City music convention last year, and they lately signed to Bella Union, home to the similarly quiet-loud-loving Dears.

Although Deveney is the main guitarist and his brother, Chris, takes the lead vocal, all band members write and sing and at any moment violin, xylophone or undulating percussion could be the focus of their sound.

Aside from their interest in fairytales and the fact drummer Ryan is pretty nifty at drawing animals, they decided upon the album title because wolves hunt in packs, and they like to do everything together.

"It takes us quite a while to write each song," says Gary of their multi-layered approach.

"Wrongfully I Rested took us about a year. Recording takes ages too. The last one we did was a B-side. It's a bit of an epic. We had to do it in a day because we were heading off on tour so we had to really get a move on. At one point our producer took to shouting Blood! Blood!' to try to get us going. I think it took 17 hours."

No member of My Latest Novel has ever written a novel but their lyrics are thoughtful and engaging, while their website postings - again, they all like to chip in - form an alternative insight into being in a band, from freezing your bollocks off at a bus station in Oslo to wondering if your guitar case would be a match against a London street gang.

"I think we were all fed up," notes Gary, "of either going on band's websites and there not being any posts or them just going on about how great it is playing America."

As for touring, forget sex, drugs and hilarious tour bus antics - it's first and foremost a chance to catch up on your reading. Gary, I eventually ascertain through his strong accent and my prejudices as to the likely reading matter of 20-something musicians, has just finished The Count Of Monte Cristo and is moving on to One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. His stamped copy of Ulysses will have to wait until they tour the world.

Starts at 8pm, tickets cost £6 and £4. Call 01273 603974