The Twilight Sad @ Grand Ole Opry, 9 February

Live Review by Chris McCall | 13 Feb 2012

The Grand Ole Opry makes an unlikely venue in which to see The Twilight Sad. With confederacy flags and neon lighting adorning each wall, a neutral observer could be forgiven for assuming that tonight's capacity crowd are waiting for a Dixieland jazz ensemble, instead of a band from Kilsyth who are promoting an album that draws heavily on the industrial goth aesthetic of Cabaret Voltaire and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Opener Kill It In The Morning sets the tone for the evening; drummer Mark Devine pounds out a brutal rhythm which provides an unshakable foundation for James Graham's mournful crooning and Andy MacFarlane's guitar work, which, when the venue's limited PA system allows, is both powerful and subtle.

Therein lies tonight's only problem: it’s a terrific performance, with mesmerising renditions of songs from all three albums represented and the band appearing confident and content, but the sonic plane on which they now fly is simply too large for mid-sized Glasgow clubs to handle. The charging thunder of Dead City and the roaring guitars of At The Burnside deserves to be aired on a larger stage like the Barrowlands; it's time for The Twilight Sad to move up to the next level.

http://www.thetwilightsad.com