Greg Mendez @ Stereo, Glasgow, 18 Aug

Hailing from Philadelphia, Greg Mendez is making not just his Glasgow debut tonight, but his Scottish debut. Quietly unassuming, Mendez takes to the stage and sits on one of two chairs set out. He begins his set solo, opening with Donut Shop, a heartbreaking track where he sings the words ‘I’ll take care of you / Until you don’t want me to’. Setting the tone for the evening, the crowd hangs on every word he sings; early into his set, the air con units are fortunately switched off so as not to drown out an incredibly intimate performance.

Mendez is joined on stage by V – who accompanies on keys that emulate an organ, as well as bass guitar; they had sourced the instrument over Instagram that day. Before V joins, Mendez takes a turn on the keys on First Time, taken from last year's First Time / Alone EP. It’s heavy, but delicate at the same time. The vocals are fraught with emotional weight, calling to mind Elliott Smith. Long Division sees Mendez tackle beautiful, soaring harmonies with V, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics like, 'You would've told 'em they could fuck right off'. It’s not angry, however; there’s something so profound about the performance, with gently finger-picked songs played on acoustic guitar – it’s easy to feel totally entranced. Given that, there’s not much banter or crowd interaction – at one point Mendez takes a swig of a can of original Irn-Bru, describing it as “bubblegum root beer.” 

Overall, despite the warmth outside, tonight's show feels almost autumnal or wintry, like something you'd listen to in a state of yearning. Mendez’s songs are short but deeply impactful – so it feels like you’ve been gut-punched emotionally, with little time to recover between songs. When the intro for Maria starts towards the end of the set, someone in the crowd goes “aw yes!” The song, highly praised by Pitchfork, is perhaps his most recognised track. Again, it's swift but still incredibly raw and poignant. Greg Mendez delivers an understated, ethereally lo-fi performance that feels incredibly special for those lucky enough to bear witness to it.