The Twilight Sad @ Cabaret Voltaire

From what these lugs have heard, support band Frightened Rabbit can do better than this. Some bizarre vocal 'harmonies' from their drummer almost jeopardizes their performance which gathers momentum as it goes. After much huffing and puffing, they finish in style, finally finding the crescendo they've spent half an hour looking for. Rumour has it My Bloody Valentine wore earplugs at their live shows. If the volume levels in Cabaret Voltaire tonight are anything to go by, The Twilight Sad may soon have to follow suit. They take an Edinburgh stage for only the second time, in silence. James Graham's unaccompanied intro to Cold Days From The Birdhouse bounces off the stone walls and wooden rafters, the first and last moment of clarity in their brief, but brilliant set. The shoegaze influence, palpable on record, is inescapable in the live arena. Not even the relentless onslaught of feedback, though, is able to drown out Graham's thundering vocal. The two combined threaten to bring the cavernous confines of Cab Vol down around us. "It's Tuesday night for God's sake! What the fuck are yis all doing here?" he humbly asks of the crowd, blissfully unaware his band are about to take over the world. [Finbarr Bermingham]