The Delgados @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 25 Jan

Andrew Wasylyk's music is the very epitome of atmospheric, which makes it glorious for mood-setting, but also a bit tricky as a support act. His compositions are patient builders, Wasylyk himself bringing in different elements of his eight-piece band like a seasoned conductor. However, the lengthy songs can stretch the attention span of the casual punter, especially ones who've been waiting nearly 20 years to see one of Glasgow's favourite bands...

The Delgados return to the city after a 19 year absence which has certainly made the collective heart of tonight's sold out audience grow fonder. Kicking off with Everything Goes Around the Water, the opener to Peloton, arguably the band's best album, the intervening years melt away and it's shocking to think that a band can be so slick after so many years (augmented tonight up to a ten-piece at times with strings, effects etc). Emma Pollock and Alun Woodward trade off vocal duties from song to song with ease, but leave plenty of room for the beautiful string arrangements which consistently soar all night.

This mode is the group's bread and butter, but there's more to the performance than just cranking out aural nostalgia. They mix it up with a lovely rendition of Steeleye Span's Parcel of Rogues which they once covered for a Peel Session (it is Burns Night, so perhaps not totally unexpected), still as relevant as ever in its political acerbity. This is followed by Under Canvas Under Wraps, the punkest moment of the night that jolts the awe-struck audience to life. But even beneath the excellent arrangements, the band's signature wit continues to shine through, especially on songs like All You Need Is Hate, or Pull the Wires From the Wall.

The whole performance forces us to ask, once again, how it was that The Delgados were not much, much bigger in their day? But a post-show tweet alluding to a Bandstand shows that there are further plans afoot beyond the initially announced dates. Hopefully this is the beginning of a glorious second act.