Bill Orcutt @ The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 14 Apr

Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh provides an opening set of noisy experimentation; mostly it's just viola being plucked, bowed or otherwise assaulted. Sounds are teased out in moments of rising tension, or blurted forth in abrupt screeches. The whole performance is a continuous and fairly fluid affair, with the viola occasionally rested for some found sound electronics or feedback squalls, but the overall effect remains one of profound and restless exploration.

Bill Orcutt is expectedly lowkey as he shuffles onstage with just a guitar and a battered old chair for company. The set takes the form of four or five lengthy compositions; each richly layered as they court mesmerising repetition and piercing jolts of inspired riffing. The more lyrical passages recall 2023's Jump On It (at least a part of A Natural Death appears), though these are offset by confrontational and abrasive sections that pierce the otherwise hypnotic vibe, à la How the Thing Sings.

Orcutt is cheerful throughout, pausing between songs to express his fondness for The Glad Cafe (it's his third time here) and to chuckle at the pub quiz going on next door that briefly interrupts a quiet moment. He suffered a fall recently and broke a rib and his hand, he says by way of explanation for moving a little gingerly. However, there's no hint of lasting damage to his hand as imbues each motif with a deft intricacy that clearly demonstrates just why he's so revered, and more than once sounds reminiscent of the brilliant Odds Against Tomorrow.

There hasn't been much slowing to Orcutt, even as he approaches his mid-60s, but his playing on this tour at least isn't quite the wild abandon he's been known to inhabit. It's still safely in the experimental space, but there's a care and deliberation around these songs that feels at odds with the improvisatory style he often employs. The prodigious talent is always on display, but the need to push boundaries is even clearer. On the evidence of tonight, it doesn't look like Orcutt's sonic voyaging is anywhere near done.