Road rage, real estate, rabies outbreaks and eyes locking over the office water cooler… all feature in the lyrics of Water Machine’s debut album, God Park. This fun, freewheeling Glasgow band recognise that there’s a whole world of inspiration out there so why stick to the usual song stuff? Water Machine prefer to deal in ‘realistic escapism’.

‘Sometimes in life, seeking for depth in something makes it more shallow,’ reckons bassist Flore de Hoog. ‘There can be more meaning in things that capture a moment than something that’s been stewing for too long.’

Water Machine don’t overthink the details. Trusting instincts and embracing spontaneity are key to their helter-skelter creativity, producing a playful and innately catchy blend of indie rock, post-punk thrashing and even a touch of country, topped with singer Hando Morice’s violin non-virtuosity.

‘I feel very intimidated by a lot of virtuosic players,’ says Morice, ‘because I went to a music-leaning school and I was always told that I could kind of play but I was never going to be a real musician. I’ve always wanted to create a space where there are similar musicians who want to have fun playing some songs together.’

‘I said I played the bass,’ says de Hoog. ‘That was a lie but I definitely tried.’ Drummer Nicky Duncan, meanwhile, taught himself to drum using the drumkit feature on Guitar Hero: Metallic. So DIY creativity abounds in this band and, despite active discouragement down the years from academia, partners and music snobs, Morice and de Hoog also style it out as members of Lungleg and Brenda respectively.

‘I do think it’s a recurring theme as women or non-binary people,’ says de Hoog. ‘You have to swim faster. You have to really jump through the hoops and be resilient.’

For Morice, the tipping point came while working in a Glasgow venue. ‘One day I was watching another group of 25-year-old guys play the worst five songs I’ve ever heard in my life,’ they say. ‘I thought “you know what, I think I’m going to have a go at this”. I remember being onstage for the first time and it just being the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.’

God Park was recorded two years ago with original guitarist Jimmy Gage following an initial bout of touring, but Water Machine are now rocking the twin guitar action of Baby Cousland and Ellie McWhinnie, while unofficial sixth member Patrick the dog ‘sings’ on the track ‘Dog Park’ and appears in the video for new single ‘River’.

Finally, Morice has fulfilled their dream of forming a band with an office-related name. None of the members of Water Machine have ever worked in an office, which just about excuses Morice’s misremembering of the phrase ‘water cooler’. Like everything else about this group, they simply owned the mistake and gleefully went with the flow.

Even the album title is a typo. ‘I was writing “Dog Park” into the group chat and I misspelled,’ says Morice, ‘so if anyone is wondering where the album title came from: dyslexia.’

God Park is released by FatCat Records and launched at The Old Hairdresser’s, Glasgow, Friday 20 June; main picture: Brian Sweeny.