“WHEN you’re entwined in something you love, you’re not always at your prettiest,” confesses frontman of one of Scotland’s most promising acts Tijuana Bibles as we chat and unravel the mind that has created this EP. The EP in question is ‘Ghost / Dance / Movement’; a milestone for the band, one of great fight, prospect and passion.

There’s something raw, offbeat, against the grain and fascinating about what makes these four lads from Glasgow, Tijuana Bibles. The band themselves are unsigned, without funding and yet gearing up for their biggest European tour yet. Their success, they say, is because they’ve played every toilet up and down the country.

“Well not toilets. But near enough,” smiles frontman Tony Costello. And with a surname, smile and swagger like his, was he really destined for anything else?

Opener ‘Apogee’ rings through your ears like a crashing rocket through the sky, a track that immediately shows how the Glasgow band have rounded their love for Eagles of Death Metal’s Hughes and Hommes; high pitched harmonies, speeding drum beats, frantic riffs all creating a balls to the wall rock ‘n’ roll recipe that was made to be played loud.

The way each track merges into the next is magical, each standing alone strong in their own right, yet complimented by the power of the proceeding tune.

In our recent chat, the band cite influences as far and wide as Savages and Quentin Tarantino; and with its boundary pushing guts and blockbuster hook, ‘Ghost / Dance / Movement’ could be the one that the iconic director seeps into. It’s a masterpiece of rock ‘n’ roll production where the guitar licks really take centre stage alongside the purrs of Costello, really showing off his impressive vocal and melodic charms.

“Touring knocks you off stride and skews your view of reality a little, which is always good for writing,” states Costello which is proven in ‘Six To Midnight’. It’s a song which is always a highlight during their live set and once again puts the vocals in the spotlight; dewy yet grainy tones and trademark colossal riffs intercept the tracks mighty lyrics “I need you like a shot to the heart….”

The previously heard and well-loved ‘Sun Chaser’ also appears on this new EP, originally unleashed at the start of the year it’s a song that simmers and boils as if the band are preparing for battle. The swaggering track is full of diving riffs making it a prominent song on this record.

‘Ghost Dance’ is an all-affirming EP, cramming months on the road, getting to know each other’s souls inside and out, defining what it is to be a Bible, defining what music can do to you when you feel it shake your core. ‘Ghost Dance’ confirms what we already know about Tijuana Bibles; they feel it and they want you to feel it too.

This article originally appeared in TTV’s weekly music column in The National Newspaper.