Glassjaw @ QMU, 26 Jan

In the right venue, Pulled Apart By Horses (***) are bottled lightning, a visceral explosion of riffs and tactile interaction. Tonight that intensity feels diluted, their enthusiasm not quite translating to a room impatient for the headliner’s overdue resurrection. But any flatness is not for lack of trying, and Punch A Lion in the Throat draws their set to a close in a controlled squall that demands the room’s respect. Their debut album is due this year, and an increased familiarity with their blistering taut rock sound will likely have many here tonight returning to see them as the main attraction further down the line.

Seven years ago Glassjaw (**) were scheduled to play Glasgow till Crohn’s hospitalised singer Daryl Palumbo, forcing a cancellation (or, as he puts it, “last time I was here my ass exploded”, perhaps the first time a crowd has booed a performer’s volatile gastrointestinal tract). Despite the hiatus, their melodic hardcore more than holds up (that they once suffered the ignominy of being associated with a nu-metal scene to which they bear zero resemblance is ludicrous). But they’re let down tonight by poor sound, the bass-heavy mix burying Justin Beck’s guitar in sludge. Microphone malfunctions are less of a problem, with swathes of the crowd filling in on the occasions when Palumbo’s screaming yields nowt. But when the lights go up after less than an hour, jeers replace cheers - protesting the brevity of the set perhaps, but with an undeniable undercurrent of anticlimactic disappointment.[Chris Buckle]