The Twilight Singers @ The Arches, 19 March

Tonight’s support, the London-based Bookhouse Boys are something of a conundrum. The voice of Catherine Turner – at times tacit and tender, at others sadistically lashing – is steeped in the myre of the octet’s haunting choral refrain, a thundering percussive storm, and a dark concierge of mariachi horns. It’s at times masterful, often chaotically misdirected, though always mesmerising.

They set an appropriate stall for the indulgences of Greg Dulli’s Twilight Singers, who emerge amidst the fittingly cavernous gloom of The Arches – minus his legion of high-profile studio contributors – immediately delving into Last Night in Town, the thundering opener to Dynamite Steps. The band may be experiencing the ravages of middle age, but they retain a ferociousness which drives a set that takes time with each of their five studio albums; Teenage Wristband, a blistering Bonnie Brae, and curtain closer, the garrulous Waves, provide the customary crowd pleasers.

Yet it’s in the stripped back moments with only Dulli’s tortured wail and a resonant piano where the light truly pours in tonight. Dulli’s bare-boned rendition of synth-pop act Desire’s Don’t Call proves inspired, heart-breaking and utterly levelling. [Paul Neeson]