KAMI Thompson is bemoaning the lack of sexiness in modern music.

Not in the physical sense, but in how any mystery about performers has mostly disappeared, thanks to social media.

“If you’re someone who just makes music and doesn’t really know how to work a computer, then being expected to go a bit American by self-promoting yourself on something like Twitter can be weird,” she says with a chuckle.

“Every bit of information about a musician you had to eke out in the past, which I really loved. It was so exciting to find out something about a singer, a bit sexy. I don’t think there’s anything sexy about music anymore, because everything is out there.”

Her parents never had to worry about Facebook likes. Thompson is the daughter of Richard and Linda Thompson: an impressive, and weighty, musical heritage. However she has established herself as a successful artist in her own right, both with her solo work and with The Rails.

That band might not have existed without a word from her mum though, who introduced her to James Walbourne, now both her musical partner and her husband.

“My mum actually introduced us, which was a bit weird after her always going on over the years about how she didn’t like my boyfriends,” says Thompson, laughing.

“I think it means she wins in the end, which is annoying, but he was playing in a session for her, and we met then, although nothing came of it at the time. We reconnected a little later on as we’re both in London, we ended up at a gig and made out, and that was it…”

That was it both personally and professionally. It didn’t take long for Thompson and Walbourne, who has played with various bands and is currently the Pretenders guitarist, to start making music together, with late night chats and trying out songs soon leading to The Rails forming.

Their first album, Fair Warning, saw Edwyn Collins on board to produce, and brimmed with astute folk rock. It was released through Island Records, becoming the first release through the company’s so-called Pink label since the 1970s.

Praise and awards nominations soon followed, but The Rails that have returned in 2017 are a different proposition to when we last heard from them. They’re no longer on Island, for one thing, while the music on their new album, Other People, is emphatically more about rock than before.

“It was definitely a conscious thing,” explains Thompson, chatting away over the phone as she travels around London.

“With the first record we wanted to make more of a folk album. When we first met, I was playing electric guitar all the time and James was heavy too, so it seemed nice to do something that was a little different, and we really enjoyed doing that, but we’ve reverted to type now.”

As for Island, that was simply the classic case of a small band being on a big label and not having any time devoted to them, a situation that’s familiar for many modern acts these days.

“It was frustrating. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that being a small act on a major label can be a bit torturous, because labels aren’t what they used to be. They don’t have the resources to deal with smaller acts, so it’s all about Rihanna and Taylor Swift – who I love by the way – but not anyone else.

“It was great to have the Pink label imprint back for us, and quite exciting, but I don’t think anyone there really knew too much about it and there wasn’t any momentum. I’m not going to be bitchy because they were all very nice people, it just didn’t work out.”

Momentum is something they certainly found with Other People. The record was mostly recorded in a single week, with Thompson and Walbourne heading off to Nashville to work with producer Ray Kennedy, best known for his collaborations with Steve Earle over the years.

Of course, heading to Nashville in pursuit of some added authenticity is a common tactic from many bands, and is something that makes Thompson recoil in mock disgust.

“There seems to be a raft of English musicians going there now to make pseudo-country albums and thinking that doing it in Nashville will give them some credibility. It would have almost been nice to do it somewhere else, so we weren’t lobbed in with that crew…”

Thompson comes across as a likeable character, who speaks her mind and says what she thinks. There’s a breezy quality to her chat that doesn’t always come across with phone interviews, and she seems genuine, particularly when discussing her upcoming return to Scotland.

First up is a headline show for The Rails at King Tut’s in Glasgow on Monday night, with a couple of dates supporting The Pretenders (a tour where Walbourne will be on double duty) following in October.

“My mum’s side of the family are all there, so I’ll get to see them,” she enthuses. “I’m hoping that some of them will be at the gig. Plus, if you dropped me in Sauchiehall Street I could walk in about 15 minutes to my favourite pubs. Oh, and I love that you can always get a good curry in Glasgow.

“I sound like such a bloke, don’t I? Beer and curry and I’m happy…”

It’s worth jumping back a few moments in conversation, where Thompson stressed a liking for Taylor Swift. Does she admire her songs?

“I think she’s got awful songs, but I read her comments at her trial recently [where she won a case against a radio DJ who groped her], and every word that came out of her mouth was absolutely fantastic, so I like her purely on that basis.

“When I was younger and a bit more thin and marketable you’d get creepy guys telling you to lose weight and things like that, so her taking the stand was laudable. One of the only benefits in getting older is that you don’t have to put up with that.”

Being in a band with your husband obviously has benefits too, but there must be a strangeness to working with your partner in your work so much. Thompson thinks they’ve found the solution, though.

“James is quite highly strung about things, so if something is going on he needs to talk about it and hammer into the ground, whereas I’m not like that. Sometimes we’ll book rehearsal space outside the house, so we’re not using the house, and we have separate areas in the flat to write.

“I guess it’s like any working relationship or marriage - you have to work at not killing each other.”

The Rails play King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Monday. Other People is out now.