Jon Fratelli prepares for The Fratelli's rousing and raucous Oxford performance

Glasgow band The Fratellis released their debut album Costello Music almost a decade ago.

They have subsequently basked in the glory of three hit LPs, a BRIT award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2007, and sell out shows throughout Europe and America.

But the band remain best known for their rousing indie anthem Chelsea Dagger, a tune whose pulsating rhythms saw them labelled as “Scottish sex gods” in the pages of Rolling Stone. With the release of their fourth album Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied in August, singer and guitarist Jon Fratelli says the band have bounced back better than ever.

“The last time I listened to the new album was about six months ago” he confides in a lilting Glaswegian accent.

“This was the first time since we made Costello Music where we were just able to make a record for the sake of it.

“It’s not an easy place to get to, when you’re just making music for music’s sake.”

It was a liberating experience for the band who feature 36 year old Jon alongside bassist and drummer Barry and Mince Fratelli, and Oxford based keyboard player Will Foster.

“While we were recording Eyes Wide we had no idea who was going to release it, and it was completely possible that it wouldn’t be released.

“So for the most part we were just pleasing ourselves.

“We hadn’t done this since we made our first record, when we had no fan base to think about, and when no-one knew who we were.”

Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied finds the band reunited with their debut album’s Grammy winning producer Tony Hoffer, who in the years between has scored hits with artists such as Depeche Mode, The Kooks and Goldfrapp. Cut in Los Angeles in the final months of 2014, all but two of the album’s songs were written within a couple of months of the Fratellis’ return to the studio.

“We wrote most of the songs five or six weeks before we recorded them,” he says.

“The album is a fairly good snap shot of where we were as a band at the time of year. I feel that I may have finally written the kind of songs that I had always wanted to write.”

New songs include single Baby Don’t You Like To Me, with its solid guitar riff, punchy chorus, introspective bridge and classic chords.

Moonshine brings a tinge of country music, while opener Me and the Devil thrives on subtle gospel and blues references.

Too Much Wine, meanwhile, captures the energy of the live shows so popular with the band’s fans.

Jon says the Fratellis continue to improve with every gig.

“There are things we attempt now we just wouldn’t technically have been able to do back in 2006,” he asserts. “When we started out we were only playing one gig every few weeks, but when you start playing night after night you progress, and the songs change.

“So much so that if you were to play one of our early recordings back to me now, I don’t think I’d recognise it.”

The band have already played Oxfordshire once this year with an appearance at Cornbury Festival in July.

Despite their heaving schedule, Jon has fond memories of the gig.

“As a band we seem to be playing different types of festivals now and I remember Cornbury as probably the poshest festival we’ve ever played,” he says.

“I don’t mean that in a derogatory way!

“I only have nice things to say about it.”

• Changes: Jon Fratelli now admits he wouldn’t be able to recognise some of his earlier songs

“Although,” he adds, “there probably was a time earlier in our careers when ‘nice’ wasn’t something we would have gone for!”

Jon admits it’s hard to define what makes a standout gig for him at this stage in the band’s careers.

“You could have a thousand people in a room watching the band, as well as the four of us on stage – but you would have probably 1,004 different interpretations of how a gig went.

“No one can predict when all the conditions are going to be right for something a bit special.

“There are those nights when you don’t need to ask.

“There’s a smile on everyone’s face.”

Such unpredictability and excitement is part of why The Fratellis stay on the road for up to six months each year.

The singer spends the remaining time in Glasgow.

On his love for his home city, he simply says: “I’ve never seen any need to live anywhere else.

“At first I used to get homesick on the road, but that was going from having always been in the one place, to being in multiple places.”

Though, he goes on: “I would never have been able to go anywhere if I hadn’t been in this band.

“I had no other talent to sell people. “Music has allowed me to see the world, and when you start to travel, it changes everything.

“You eventually get to the point where you can make your home anywhere in the world.”

Where and when
The Fratellis play the O2 Academy Oxford, in Cowley Road, tonight.
Tickets from ticketweb.co.uk