Hector Bizerk / Strange Empire / Woven Tents @ Nice 'N' Sleazy, 12 January

Tonight opens with the bluesy and operatic rock stylings of Strange Empire. They've brought their fans. Each chrous is greeted with a raucous, booze-enhanced sing-along. Frontman Joe Gallacher has the iron-lunged voice of a hybrid angel and demon, switching up between snarling, old-fashioned rock 'n' roll swagger and soaring, pitch-perfect falsetto. There are hints of Muse in their epic, crowd-pleasing set, but the raucous blues medley they close with shows where the band's influences really lie. Check them out, pronto.

Woven Tents follow up with a delightfully oddball, jazz and psych-rock influenced set that takes in Weather Report-esque licks, mental Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band drums and strange, spiky keyboard-playing. It's impressive, but lacks the phenomenal presence of Strange Empire.

Finally, Hector Bizerk take the stage, expanded to a four-piece by the addition of a synth player and a bassist. They immediately explode into a devastatingly tight set, still anchored by Audrey Tait's complex drums and Louie's impassioned, literate raps. Louie is on dynamic form tonight, a consummate and energetic front man who whips the crowd into a baying frenzy. Man Up becomes a fist-pumping call to action, Burst Love swaggers insouciantly before igniting, while a culminative and anthemic Bury The Hatchet closes proceedings.

Like their fellow peers Stanley Odd, Hector Bizerk are knocking down the walls of the Scottish hip-hop ghetto, using the scene's history and vernacular to create relevant music with universal appeal, becoming one of the most exciting live bands in Scotland in the process. [Bram E. Gieben]