“THEY are usually pretty small minded and inexperienced journalists”, Janine Shilstone says when asked about being labelled a female-fronted rock band.

The lead singer of four-piece riff pop band Vukovi doesn't take too well to being put in a box, metaphorically speaking.

Despite being kicked out of a band previously for being a woman, Janine doesn’t hold a grudge.

Getting the sack was the best thing that could have happened to the singer as it led her to her bandmates in Vukovi.

“The boys were in a band called Wolves before I joined with a guy singer but wasn't working out so the drummer at the time contacted me on Facebook as we grew up together and knew I sung in school”, she explains.

“He couldn't have timed it better because I was actually sacked from a band the week before for being a girl.

“He asked if I fancied coming along for a jam, which I did, and we all clicked instantly, got a few songs under our belts and about a month later one of our tunes got played on Radio 1.

“It was at that point we all kinda thought to ourselves "we can do this".”

Recent success has proved that they were right.

Since releasing their self-titled debut album in March, they have secured an industry nod in the form of a Scottish Album of the Year longlist nomination and received praise from their peers and critics alike.

The response has been “overwhelming”, the singer says.

“It’s been really humbling to have our work recognised from Kerrang to Facebook all embracing it but ultimately the love from our fans has been the best.

“For the SAY Awards it was really nice to be nominated and to make the longlist and if I’m honest a bit of a surprise.

“When you look at the previous artists who had been selected we don’t really fit that mold so was a nice nod in our direction.

“I don’t think we were under any illusions that we’d make the shortlist due to this as the music we make has been wider reaching than what is usually considered but always nice to be considered for these types of things.

“It exceeded our expectations, we've noticed a huge difference after doing our last headline tour and Slam Dunk festival. We couldn't believe the jump in ticket sales and the turnout at our Slam Dunk sets.

“It was those moments where we realised the album had done for us.”

Rage Against The Machine, Florence Welch, Death From Above 1979, Foals, Sia and Incubus have all been cited as influences on their unique sound.

Before releasing a full record, the band dropped several singles and steadily built a fanbase.

When it came to writing and record the album, they enlisted the help of Bruce Rintoul (Fatherson, Twin Atlantic, We Were Promised Jetpacks) and from then, everything happened “pretty fast”.

“I wrote Animal and Ladida on GarageBand when I was drunk one night then sent it over to boys to inject some Vukovi into it.

“We like the pressure of deadlines and if we sit on new music for too long we get bored of it. Hence why we like a quick turnaround.

“The album was recorded and produced by Bruce Rintoul with the help of Nick Lawrie in production who I think personally both took the album to the next level and we'll be eternally grateful for that.

“We did three days of pre-production with them to which we had a shortlist of 16 songs. They were brutal but we needed it.

“We'd play all 16 songs and it was as simple as "yes" , "no" , "try that without the double chorus" or "cut that part after the second chorus and go straight to the verse".

“It helped immensely because you can find yourself getting very attached to songs you've written and sometimes need an unbiased opinion.”

The summer will see Vukovi build on their momentum at festivals across Scotland including TRNSMT festival this weekend and Belladrum Festival in August.

“The sky's the limit”, Janine says about the band’s future.

“We're always looking for the next goal and how we can build on the momentum we have at the moment, it's something we find extremely addictive seeing where we can take Vukovi.”

Vukovi will be playing the King Tut's stage at TRNSMT on Sunday July 9.