Swimmer One @ Voodoo Rooms, 22 Nov

The sole Scottish gig to coincide with the release of Swimmer One's excellent debut album The Regional Variations was only ever going to be low key. It took them four years to record the LP, released with little fanfare, but to deserved critical acclaim. So the intimate upper stratum of the Voodoo Rooms, decorated with suitably twinkling yet fittingly fabricated stars is not an anti-climax. It's fucking perfect. The small crowd that has assembled seems well acquainted with the band's music, to such an extent that it's more like a gathering of friends than a concert. This informality extends to the relaxed atmosphere, which perhaps explains that whilst the songs are flawlessly delivered, the intensity that the record is so loaded with seems somehow lacking. The quality of songs like Balance Company, though, is inescapable and the cover of Cloudbusting is lovely; let's hope we see a lot more of Swimmer One in 2008. [Fergal Baggio]