Trust Fund @ Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, 17 February

“We love you, Glasgow,” deadpans Trust Fund’s Ellis Jones, after bassist Roxy Brennan mock-trips herself up with some wry, audience-baiting banter. “And… I think you love us too.” He grins knowingly, as though this is the most ridiculous thing he could possibly have said with a straight face – and anyone versed in performer etiquette might agree that it is. But so sprightly and winsome is their take on punk-tickled indiepop that you’d struggle to find anyone in Nice N Sleazy tonight who’d disagree.

They’re at their most potent at full pelt (see the breezy Reading The Wrappers, where three voices alternate between joyful unison and breaking into sumptuous harmony), but for some reason it’s the quiet numbers like Q&A duet Idk that really cut to the core here. There’s something about their earnestness that will doubtless lend itself to lazy descriptors like ‘twee’, but poke about beneath the surface and you’ll find something genuinely sincere and compelling. Anyone can craft a scrappy lo-fi pop song, but it takes some style to pull off this level of conspiratorial intimacy, especially with one foot poised above the distortion pedal.

A recent split with Joanna Gruesome makes comparisons inevitable, yet whereas the Cardiff quintet’s identity is entirely split between the roar of their records versus the ramshackle nature of the live show, the stage enables Trust Fund to transcend the fragility of their fine studio recordings to become something kaleidoscopically captivating. When Cut Me Out’s grunge-flecked jangle gives way to a singalong moment, there’s no doubt that love is in the air. [Will Fitzpatrick]