Gig review: The Twilight Sad - Glasgow Grand Old Opry

By DAVID POLLOCK
Published on 11/02/2012 00:00

WHAT a way the Twilight Sad have come. What a band they are now. Once upon a time the Kilsyth-formed group were merely one of the brightest up-and-coming stars of the Scottish new music scene, their dramatic use of volume-laden guitars emphasised by the rich Caledonian depths of singer James Graham’s voice.

Yet with the recently released third album No One Can Ever Know, the texture of their music has changed dramatically, with the Andrew Weatherall-abetted use of rudimentary, industrial-influenced electronics further revealing their heart of darkness.

This was a show played with a minimum of affectation, from the basic blue and purple strobe lights barely illuminating this eccentric old gun club to the lack of encore or even between-song parlez from Graham. Even his attempt to say a heartfelt thank you at the end dissolved into self-admonishment for being a “sentimental old d***”. Such bashfulness translated into a winning Scots unwillingness to over-emote, with bitter sentiments instead revealed during songs like Reflection of the Television.

The new songs fit in seamlessly amidst the old, with Sick rushing upon a snapping drum machine heartbeat as Graham urges optimistically “I’ll buy you the night and I’ll buy you the time /we can do anything you want”. But with Nil the rumble of bitterness has returned, and he spits the words “you’re content in your ways”, as if to be so is an insult to everything this life-affirming band exemplify.

Rating: *****