SPAGHETTI Western fans The Merrylees return to Dunfermline this weekend after a year of successful raids down south.

They are one of Scotland’s most promising bands with a vibrant, distinctive set reminiscent of the soundtrack of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, They were regular visitor to PJs last year before a dynamic showing on the T-Break stage set them up for support slots with Babyshambles and recently a tour with Paul Weller.

Stetsons and sombreros are the order of the day when the Edinburgh band blast out their psychedelic/country guitar sound which conjures up a ‘High Noon’ shoot-out.

One of their triggermen, guitarist Simon Allan spoke to Press:ON this week about the band’s successful year which has seen them win new fans across Europe.

“It’s been going really well and we’ve had the chance to work with people we’ve always looked up to and admired like Richard Hawley who produced our single,” said Simon.

“It’s a great experience for us and we’re just going with the flow. Supporting Babyshambles and playing these gigs with Paul Weller has also been tremendous.

" It’s been a great platform for us to play in front of thousands of people who probably haven’t heard us before. We’ve also had the chance to speak to Paul and he’s somebody else we grew up looking up to.

“Things have really taken off and we’ve been really pleased with the response we’ve been getting even though when we start playing sometimes you can see people thinking ‘What the f***?’ but they’ve really been getting into it.” A debut album is a possibility for next year but Simon said, “We know that it’s important that for a first album it’s about getting the timing right so we’re not rushing into anything.

“We’ve been busy this year so now we’re taking the chance to get our heads down, write new material and we may be recording soon. We tend not to plan ahead too much and prefer to make decisions on the spur of the moment.

“Last year we were really busy playing all over Scotland and this year it’s been good to go further afield and we’ll be back down in Camden on Thursday night before playing PJs on Saturday.

“It will great to come back. It’s a really good venue and we always enjoy coming to Dunfermline.” * The Merrylees play PJ Molloys tomorrow (Saturday) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAf5fICuYo