Biffier than thou

IT'S ALWAYS the quiet ones you've got to watch. Not that Biffy Clyro are all that quiet - musically, this spiky Ayrshire power trio are considered to rock like demons, and they don't sit around meekly waiting for permission to tour either.

While a nation has gone giddy for the more audacious and ubiquitous likes of Franz Ferdinand, Mylo and KT Tunstall, Biffy Clyro have diligently plugged away on the margins in old-fashioned dues-paying style. Even their own record company biog describes them as being "tortoises". While no-one but their insanely dedicated fanbase has been watching, though, these tortoises have crept up the ranks to become the biggest cult band in Scotland.

"We've taken tiny steps, but we're still doing it five years later," says their hirsute and friendly frontman Simon Neil, who formed the band with his childhood friends James and Ben Johnston when they were in their mid teens.

"At the time you don't really appreciate the steady progress of it, but now we're moving on to our fourth album. People are still finding out about us and nobody's written us off. A lot of bands are thrown in at the deep end, whereas we have had the chance to release albums and not worry about whether everybody went crazy for us and thought we were the greatest band of the last ten years."

There are plenty who do subscribe to that view, however, and their steadfast support has been instrumental in the band's word-of-mouth rise. Biffy fans are a particularly staunch and tight-knit breed, the most fervent of whom have organised themselves into a nationwide wrecking crew dubbed Team Biffy. Neil describes them affectionately as "maniacs".

"There was no reason for anybody to like our band," he says modestly. "We weren't a cool band, we weren't all over the magazines, and it was people who love music, who went out and found new music who discovered us and kept coming back to our shows."

One such confirmed fan is Dave McGeachan of Df Concerts, who has encouraged the band's gradual ascent from their days on local-band bills at King Tut's.

"They are my favourite band," he declares without hesitation. "They do have a cult following but they have a wide and varied mix of fans of all ages now.

"They must have the most loyal and dedicated following of any UK rock act - everyone at a Biffy gig knows every word of every song."

This week, there is an opportunity for those fans to test their memories as Biffy return to King Tut's to play each of their albums - Blackened Sky, The Vertigo Of Bliss (recorded in a day - now that's the work of a tight unit) and Infinity Land - in their entirety on consecutive nights. "We wanted to say thank you to the people who have helped us to make three albums," says Neil.

"A lot of fans ask for certain songs that we never play, so we thought we'd do a few shows where we play the entire albums and nobody can moan about the set we're doing. We were worried that people would think we were being pretentious but it's purely a fun thing for us and the fans who have been to see us 20-odd times."

Their Tut's mini-residency extends to a record-breaking four nights at the venue. The final night will be their last show of the year and will be the first airing of the tracks the band have chosen for their still-to-be-recorded fourth album.

Although the track listing is not set in stone, for tantalising preview purposes Neil describes the new material as "more rocking but maybe not as aggressive as previous stuff. It's not got any screaming on it. We're more confident to let the song do the talking on this one, and that's come from having a year or so to find the best songs that we've got. There's no flab." As testament to their fans' hunger and loyalty, it was this resolutely non-greatest hits show which sold out first.

Will their fourth album send Biffy Clyro supernova? Probably not. The humble Biffy boys know that's no way to win the race anyway. "Our only real ambition is to be our own favourite band," said Neil a couple of years back.

Now, he declares that "one of the first things I think of when I wake up in the morning is the band, and I know Ben and James are the same - it's like your best friend. If we're not out gigging or recording, then we're not a band. We are still big fans of ourselves but as soon as we are convinced that we are better than every other band in the world it will be time to retire."

• Biffy Clyro are at King Tut's, Glasgow, until 16 December. All nights are sold out