Gig review: The Twilight Sad, Grand Old Opry, Glasgow

By DAVID POLLOCK
Published on Saturday 11 February 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 chat 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 amid the old, with Sick rushing upon a snapping drum machine heartbeat as Graham urged 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 returned, and he spat the words “you’re content in your ways”, as if to be so was an insult to everything this life-affirming band exemplify.

Rating: *****

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