Twin Atlantic were once the hottest prospect in Scotland. They did fight their way through the ranks, but never hit the height they perhaps should have. I was one of the defectors who wasn’t a fan of the “Glasgow Uni” accent and had issues with the ego of one of their crew at a show – even though the band members were lovely. It wasn’t until I saw them support Muse last year in Bellahouston Park that I thought I’d made a huge mistake and let petty reasons deprive me of what looked to be an amazing live act. So let’s find out how wrong – or right – I was.
It’s a weird atmosphere waiting on the show beginning. The PA plays indie pop bands that time has forgotten – and Idlewild – while the balcony fills quicker than the main floor. There’s a noticeable amount of people in the crowd with AAA passes who come and go from the backstage door – which isn’t good nor bad, just something that you don’t often see in these numbers. Perhaps it’s testament to how many friends Twin still have in Glasgow. The music cuts out from the PA mid-song for a good two minutes but someone finds the right cord to plug back in.
The support for tonight (and main support for tomorrow following Bottle Rockets) is Saint Phnx. A Scottish duo whom I have been insanely jealous of since they got to feed Rufio the Red Panda at Five Sister’s Zoo (shout out to Rufio… I love you). Even though a duo, there’s three people on the stage. I imagine that the guitarist is the extra body, but you’d think he was a full time member of the band with his presence and vocal harmonies. I presume they’re his harmonies… sometimes the backing vocals seem too perfect and might be the work of backing tracks… I’ve nothing to suggest this beyond my own cynicism and a few times where lips didn’t quite sync with my ears.
The lead vocals are definitely live and definitely impressive. For the sake of depth, I can forgive backing tracks. They’re definitely there with instruments, so I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some vocals back there. The music is pretty refreshing though, huge sounding and anthemic. Think Bastille but a bit more gospelly which gets rocky but not quite Kasabian. The lead singer in question is Stevie Jukes who I’m convinced has been in the spotlight under other guises over the years and on drums we have his brother, Alan, who is either stood behind the drum kit, running around with a tambourine, or giving us his own lead vocals. It might not be something I’d chose to put on my playlists, but it’s enjoyable and if I were at a nightclub I’d be far from surprised to hear quite a few of these tunes in circulation. There’s also a fun call and response with two halves of the venue gets everyone in the mood for the main act if nothing else.
Twin Atlantic come on to a pretty enthusiastic crowd and kick off with ‘Get Out’. We get a couple of leg kicks out of Sam McTrusty but the risers that have been placed at the front of the stage go largely unused. When we saw them support Muse they had a bigger stage with catwalk to make use of. On the Academy stage we have four people, one of which is behind a drum kit and another two hidden behind keyboards, and not much room for the front man to move about given the chance. Efforts are made with some walking around when the opportunity presents, but it’s largely a static performance. The sound is hit or miss, notably in ‘Oceans’ where the acoustic guitar is grating and verging on tinny rather than full and lush. We do get a lovely story about Sam’s sister, Chloe, who has the lyrics tattooed to her and I think that’s what tonight is about.
I can go on about a lack of energy compared to last time I saw them and questionable sound, but I get the feeling tonight is more about getting the family back together. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything from Twin Atlantic and officially there’s only two of them still in the band. The support slot last year was a big bonus and showed that the spark was still there.
Tonight is like your best friend’s band having a reunion and putting a gig on in the function suite of your favourite pub – just on a much grander scale. Yeah, there’s technical hitches and it would be better in a field with 100,000 people who have been drinking for the past six hours. But you’d struggle to find a room as filled with love as this one. That’s what turns a show into an experience and there’s not a single person here tonight who wouldn’t say this was an experience. It’s also something that only Glasgow can do and they need a great Glasgow band to do that. No tinny guitar comes close to ruining that.
Photos by Catching Light Photography