The Twilight Sad, Glasgow review: 'visceral catharsis'

The Twilight Sad, Barrowland, Glasgow ★★★★

Two nights of The Twilight Sad at Barrowland is about as close to a party as this Kilsyth band get. Visceral catharsis was the name of the game, with frontman James Graham in particular treating the first of those two shows like some sort of epic prize fight.

Tracks from new album It’s The Long Goodbye, inspired by the decline and death of his mother, formed the backbone of set. The gothic doom mongering of Dead Flowers set the tone. Graham wrangled the mic stand, shaping up for a trawl through his own grief before punching the air like he'd already gone ten rounds. It was not the only time he appeared to be sparring with the music. Composed by guitarist Andy MacFarlane, the soundtrack was a brooding beast, regularly awoken and ready to roar.

The core duo were joined live by a powerhouse rhythm section. Cat Myers is the drummer you want in your corner (just ask Texas, KT Tunstall and Mogwai) while Primal Scream bassist Simone Butler was key to delivering the infectious rhythmic rumble of Designed to Lose. Together, they presided over the waltz time intensity of The Arbor. Inhospitable/Hospital was similarly turbo-charged, while the urgent pulse of Waiting for the Phone Call exploded into action and inspired an audience clapalong, despite its grim subject matter.

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Brooding ballad There's A Girl in the Corner was also received with alacrity and an emotional Graham enlisted the crowd to sing in support on early favourite Cold Days from the Birdhouse. A pulverising And She Would Darken the Memory pushed the set to a crescendo but there was still the grief exorcism of TV People Still Throwing TVs at People to come, with Graham seeming to seek solace from the fans as he dug into its mantra “is it okay to feel this way?”

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