It can’t be easy starting again from scratch on your own. For 10 years, Emma Pollock was one of the four founding members of the Delgados, the influential Glasgow-based indie outfit. Over that time, they released five albums, to an growing fan base and constant critical acclaim, toured the world, selling out from America to Japan, and even had The Great Eastern nominated for the Mercury prize.

All of that while running their own record label, Chemikal Underground, which they transformed from a bedroom operation into the most successful indie label in Scot-land, discovering the likes of Arab Strap and Mogwai.

Then, two years ago, at the height of their popularity, they split up. Fast-forward to now, and Pollock is about to release her debut solo album, Watch the Fireworks. Produced by Victor van Vugt, who has worked with Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, and released by the esteemed indie outfit 4AD, which has the Pixies and the Cocteau Twins in its back catalogue, it certainly has pedigree.

Pollock is rightly enthused by this rebirth of her musical career. “There’s an optimism at 4AD. They’re really pleased with it,” she says. “We’re just trying to build things so that it doesn’t come out and nobody’s aware of us.” You’ll notice the “us” instead of “me”, presumably out of habit. We are hunkered in a small, dingy Edinburgh pub, round the corner from the small, dingy club Pollock will play later. It’s the kind of tiny gig the Delgados left behind years ago, but she seems excited to be back playing live.

Pollock is a slight figure, but her diminutive frame buzzes with nervous energy as she fiddles with her drink, and her conversation is imbued with a restless intensity. As we chat, it becomes clear that she’s still struggling with the concept of stepping into the limelight on her own, after the democracy of the Delgados. “It’s a weird thing being a solo artist, compared to being in a band,” she says. “In a band, you share the whole experience – the stresses, the strains, but also the good times. These days, I don’t have anyone to talk to about that stuff. I like that I can make all the decisions and be more versatile musically, but as for being in the spotlight, that feels a little uncomfortable.” She sighs wistfully. “I guess that’s just part and parcel of going down this route.”

Reservations aside, Pollock is right to be excited about the record. It is a consummate and eclectic collection of beautifully rendered songs, blending her love of pure pop (“For me, it’s all about the melody,” she says) with orchestral leanings, introspective singer-songwriter musings and a hint of Scottish folk. Her voice has never sounded more soulful, and while the album has similarities to the Delgados’ output, its diversity allows it to stand on its own.

“I’m pleased it’s so eclectic,” she says. “I was wary of making a pleasant acoustic-guitar album, where every song is three minutes of strumming. I wanted to use different instrumentation to reduce that possibility, and to bring a lot of piano in, because I’ve grown to adore the instrument. I want to make music with an unknown factor – that’s when you get the best albums, when people don’t set themselves into a rigid sound.”

Despite the Delgados’ split, the four former members remain close. For a start, Pollock is married to the band’s drummer, Paul Savage, who plays on Watch the Fireworks and continues to run the Chem 19 studio, which the four own. Similarly, all four still run the Chemikal Underground label together. Which prompts the question, why split in the first place?

“At the start, you’re all fired up, you want to take the charts by the scruff of the neck,” Pollock says. “I think the Delgados had a really good run. We did consistently better with each album. But, after a while, bands have to ask, are we doing this just to be doing it? None of us wanted to not feel as passionate as we had five years before. I’m really proud of the five albums we made, and I’m quite often taken aback by how bloody ambitious we were – God almighty, was that us making that noise?”

A lot can change in 10 years, and Pollock admits that the four former Delgados are very different people from the ones who started the band. Pollock and Savage have a five-year-old son, a fact that inevitably bore heavily on all decisions about her solo career.

The next few months will see her taking to the road to promote the album, something she has mixed feelings about.

“We made that decision with our business heads on, but it doesn’t escape me that it’s going to be tough,” she says. “Especially since Paul’s not going to be in the band at that point, because our son needs one parent, at least. I’ll do as much as I feel is fair on my family and is fair on me. It’s really difficult doing this kind of thing when you have a child, because you don’t get the time back. It’s always a balancing act. I would never tour when he’s on school holidays, for example, and I try not to play too many weekends, either.”

With plenty of experience of the music business, Pollock remains realistic about her future career, but refreshingly enthusiastic about what’s to come.

“I don’t expect the next six months to be a walk in the park, because I know what it’s like to be in a successful band, and I’m starting again, really,” she says. “But at the same time, I’m really excited. You have to just enjoy the ride, don’t you?”

Watch the Fireworks is out on 4AD on Sept 17. Emma Pollock plays the Truck Festival, Sept 22, then supports King Creosote, Sept 26-Oct 6

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