Bearcubs @ The Garage, Glasgow, 23 Mar

Hiding in The Garage’s low-ceiling’d Attic Bar, four electronic outfits soundtrack this chilly Glasgow Thursday eve. It’s a mostly local affair: the digital industry of Machines in Heaven, trap producer Harvey Kartel and, for his debut, young beatmaker Fall Saint; all west coast kids. But they’re all in support of tonight’s visiting headliner, London lad Bearcubs.

Though transport logistics mean this reviewer arrives part way through the second set, there is still plenty of electro-entertainment left – and the small but supportive crowd steadily grows, drawn in by Harvey Kartel’s handclap-heavy drumloops and sugary, PC Music-influenced sampling. And despite some technical issues at the start of Fall Saint’s set, his use of live guitar and, for a couple of tracks, a guest vocalist shows him to be a promising new act.

It makes for an energising evening: talents united by genre but diverse in execution. Atop that list comes Bearcubs, whose recent Underwaterfall EP continues to carve out a sonic space for Jack Ritchie that’s all his own. His compositions, especially the EP’s titular single, might recall certain other melancholic London producers (his voice is almost uncannily James Blake, and his use of muted steel drums is very Jamie xx), but there’s a wonky, underwater slant to Ritchie’s style that sets him apart.

This is his first time playing live, having produced and DJed for a couple of years. It shows, a little; there’s a timidity and stiffness holding him back. It’s a shame – he makes mind-swallowing headphones music, full of hypnotic potential, but he’s not quite yet made the transition to a live environment. Even the vocal – rich and glazed on recording – feels restrained where it could be chesty and soulful. He holds court well enough, taking us with quiet confidence from four-to-the-floor house to introspective slow jams; he’ll just need to take the safety off next time to really slay.