Alvvays @ O2 ABC, Glasgow, 18 Feb

Alvvays are true professionals, and a near-perfect, next-to-no frills performance to a packed-out ABC crowd tonight proves just that.

It’s not been that long since the Canadian band last played in Glasgow, but their swift return is greeted warmly. Locals Spinning Coin open the show, as they did back in August, warming up the crowd just enough, but not overwhelmingly so. It’s a fairly flat set from the band, despite there being a sizeable crowd who have turned up early to see them.

When Alvvays take to the stage though, the mood perks up pretty quickly. The production values are kept to a minimum, apart from the simple but effective visuals running throughout their set, and there isn’t much in the way of between-song chat. In fact, only at one point does frontwoman Molly Rankin directly interact with the crowd, to comment on the “shitty” weather and to ask how to pronounce Sauchiehall Street (she thought it was Saw-chee).

This leaves all the focus on the music, and it’s music worth focusing on. Alvvays manage to craft that perfect balance of melancholy and joyfulness and it’s perfectly executed on tracks like Next of Kin and Your Type. During the more upbeat moments in songs, Rankin lets out her signature high-pitched woos, almost urging the crowd to dance, although they don’t need much persuasion.

The band’s performance of Forget About Life, taken from their latest album Antisocialites, sees Rankin lit by a spotlight, rotating around her for the entirety of the song. Her vocals are delicate and endearing, as they are too in Dreams Tonite, when the band make use of the ABC’s disco ball, shining lights on it to brighten up the room. It’s a bit cheesy, but it works.

Given that Alvvays have only released two albums, they already appear to have an army of adoring fans in the palm of their hands and, based on tonight’s performance, it’s easy to see why.