TIM HUGHES gets a taste of modern romance - Scottish style - courtesy of the big-hearted Glasvegas.

WITH melodramatic songs about family break-up, infidelity, depression and stabbing, its hard to imagine a less romantic band than Scotland’s Glasvegas.

But the Clydeside quartet of singer-songwriter James Allan, his guitarist cousin Rab Allan, bass player Paul Donoghue and drummer Caroline McKay would have us believe we’ve got them all wrong!.

“I’d like to think we are all very romantic,” laughs Rab.

How? “That’s private,” he grins, before relenting a little.

“Definitely in the way we treat our women… and in Caroline’s case, the way she treats her man.”

For all their gritty ultra realism, Glasvegas can’t help coming across as vulnerable, lost and in need of a big old hug.

Songs like the beautifully named It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry are heartrenching and far removed from the blind hedonism that has driven much indie rock over the past few years. It’s also very rooted in everyday life, making them chroniclers of turn of the century British society.

They are, I suggest, very grounded for a band so young.

“Yeah,” agrees Rab. “I don’t know if that’s because of where we come from or just not having egos.

“I don’t even go out in Glasgow any more. It’s not because I don’t like talking to people. It’s the opposite; we like to give people our time but I can’t always do that. I don’t want people to think we are snobby.

“We take what we do seriously and judge ourselves harshly.

“But we still go out and get wasted. I’d go nuts if we didn’t party every night.”

And what are their favourite tipples? Any special rider requests?

“Champagne,” he says, unconvincingly, adding, more realistically, “Tons of lager, and a couple of cases of blue WKD to keep the sugar levels up.”

Despite their highly wrought lyrics, many of the tunes are upbeat and breezy. We are not talking about The Smiths here.

“James tries hard to be natural,” says Rab, but I don’t think he set out to make the tunes work on a different emotional level to the lyrics. I don’t think he’s that smart!

“It also doesn’t mean every song he writes is about him.

“People assume the lyrics are real. They come up and ask, ‘Has your daddy really gone?’ We have to say: ‘It’s none of your business!’ We are just good at putting ourselves in other people’s positions.

“We are quite emotional.”

On Tuesday the Glaswegians headline Oxford’s O2 Academy as part of the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour, alongside Florence and the Machine, White Lies and Friendly Fires.

“It’s been great.” Says Rab.

“Every night we’ve been going out and getting topped up.”

The show follows last year’s legendary set at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern, during which a lead was accidentally unplugged, a fire alarm set off by their smoke machine, and an amp blew up.

“We love playing Oxford,” he says. “That Jericho gig was the best of the tour.”

And did he know Glasvegas get a special feature slot at the O2 Academy’s Valentine’s Day Love is Noise bash tomorrow… in the ‘songs for the dumped’ anti-Valentine’s room?

“Ouch!” he snorts.

“That hurts!” We were going to do a Valentine’s record... but not any more!”