The Pigeon Detectives @ Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 4 Mar

For many 20-somethings, The Pigeon Detectives will bring back fond memories of a golden age of indie, the ups and downs of which are still very visible today.

In a packed-out Electric Circus, the indie vibes are strong. It’s small, it’s sweaty, it’s laddy and it’s likely you’ll be leaving covered in beer. The band open the show with Enemy Lines, a track taken from their new album Broken Glances. It’s much more mellow than their older material but that doesn’t stop the lads in the crowd thrusting forward in a surge to get closer to their indie gods – suspicions arise that frontman Matthew Bowman sees himself along those lines when he stands on the drum set, imitating a crucifixion. 

The laddy antics continue during the band’s performance of I Found Out, from their 2007 album Wait for Me. Bowman goes full Coyote Ugly, crawling on the bar and taking a shot before proceeding to spit beer into the crowd. It’s all very rock’n’roll, or at least the frontman seems to think so, and indeed he whips his crowd of loyal followers into a frenzy, hanging from the light fixtures as he tries to get as close as possible to them.

If there’s anything to be said for the Leeds quintet, it’s that they know how to work their crowd. It may be a bizarre sight to behold for many, but The Pigeon Detectives' devotees are certainly putty in their hands.