Having been a rather last-minute addition as a support to Catfish and the Bottlemen on their current tour, Twin Atlantic faced the task of getting a quickly swelling crowd at the First Direct Arena in the mood for an evening of music.

Given the limited time slot, the band had a well thought out setlist that was ready to showcase their sound while putting on a good show, a real quick-stop tour of all the hits. It was the perfect taster for a new listener, whilst still delivering for a long-term fan.

Frontman Sam McTrusty is quite the performer, engaging with the crowd as a few people started to get more rowdy for the set – a welcome edition. He left the audience chuckling with his wit and charming Scottish accent. His charisma works well with the upbeat nature of the band’s discography.

Treating us to a new unreleased single from their upcoming album POWER was a welcomed with inexplicable cheers from the room, eager to hear what they next had to offer; having a welcomed heaviness, not dissimilar from the sound you’d expect from the band. Comparatively, previous release ‘Novocaine’ benefitted greatly from the live performance, sounding more rocky than the record itself. 

This type of music lends itself to a live performance, anyone can get behind the heavy drop of ‘No Sleep’ or the heart-warming sentiment of ‘Brothers and Sisters’. Maybe a standard alt-rock performance to a casual listening but the ‘Heart and Soul” of these four lads is palpable.

Perhaps it was the flippant use of old rock standards or a combination of carefree movements but Twin Atlantic set the bar high for the following performers of the night. A solidified sound from a stage of Scots.