The French Wives

It’s always refreshing to see a young local band who seem happy to be a bit different, and as singer Stuart Dougan declared half way througout this promising set at Nice and Sleazy’s that it was “trombone time”, it was confirmed that Glasgow’s The French Wives are such a band. Bravely opening with a nicely underplayed acoustic number,
before bouncing straight into an upbeat set crammed full of keyboards, violins, full-band vocals and, of course, said trombone, the young Glaswegians’ brand of pleasingly eccentric pop invited comparisons with Guillemots and The Maccabees. Despite the odd technical glitch, the performance itself was almost as tight as guitarist Scott MacPherson’s fetching red jeans, but the band’s relative inexperience - this was only their third gig to date - was betrayed by an occasionally uncertain stage presence, which never quite matched the liveliness of their songs. This is a minor complaint however, and based on there was sufficient evidence on this showing to suggest that The French Wives could be worth keeping an eye on.