Hookworms @ The Art School, Glasgow, 17 Mar

Manchester-based duo Virginia Wing set the tone perfectly in their support slot; their cinematic, Parisian-esque synth pop providing a mellow yet entrancing start to the evening. Vocalist Alice Merida Richards bops around the stage, her gaze transfixed on the ceiling for much of the set, while bandmate Sam Pillay’s lush melodies wrap their way around her mystical vocals.

Launching straight into the opening trio of tracks taken from their latest album Microshift – Negative Space, Static Resistance and Ullswater – Hookworms barely even seem to take a breath between tracks, but still manage to make it look effortless. Frontman Matthew “MJ” Johnson maintains an incredible level of energy throughout and is very much the dominant force in the band; his ferocious passion for the music taking its toll on one particular amp that gets a rather severe beating in his urging to have it turned up louder.

Virginia Wing's Richards joins the band for Each Time We Pass – a track she provided vocals for on Microshift – and, much like the rest of the set, it sounds entirely like it does on record. It’s one of just a few moments during their lightning set that they seem to tone things down and it’s a welcome opportunity to show off one of their many other facets.

Their visuals are in keeping with the themes and artwork associated with their different albums – bright and vivid during tracks from Microshift but black and white and grainy during tracks from 2014’s The Hum. Hookworms’ sonic leap towards a more accessible sound is emphasised even further live; moving from the organ-heavy garage-rock of older tracks like On Leaving to the more delicate psych pop of the newer The Soft Season.

There’s no encore from Hookworms tonight, but it’s not needed; we’ve seen all we need to see and that is a band very much at the top of their game.