Glasvegas

Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton

review by Paul Mannion

Atmospheric Scottish rockers Glasvegas took to the stage at Wolverhampton’s Slade Rooms with a restyled electronic sound.

Leaving behind the punk-inspired raucous riffs of yore, the more-mature sounding Glasvegas opened their hour long set with their latest single The World Is Yours, laden with synthesizers and distorted guitars.

Animated lead singer James Allan, dropping guitar duty for the hour-long gig and draping himselfing in a fairy light micrphone cable, enjoyed his new found freedom and took full advantage of the intimate venue.

In Allan, Glasvegas have a vocalist to rival anyother in modern music, effortlessy sliding between belting choruses to softly singing emotive lyrics.

Aware of Allan’s undoubted ability, at times Glasvegas were too reliant on his talent, losing the crowd’s attention as his voice, accompanied by only an organ, reverbearted around the room.

Glasvegas were at their strongest on upbeat, guitar driven, songs like Go Sqaure Go and Geraldine, energising the audience who chanted the choruses back to the band.

Surprising the 555-strong sell-out crowd, the four piece threw in covers of Be My Baby, co-written by Allan’s idol Phil Spector, and Moon River, neither sounding out of sink with the melancholy rockers own set list.

For the most part Glasvegas stuck to songs from 2008’s critically acclaimed self titled debut, only playing the first single from their follow up album, released on April 4, Euphoria, Take My Hand in addition to the night’s opening track.

The band shared moments of banter with the Wolverhampton crowd, though their thick Scottish accents, which play such a huge part in their identity, left many none the wiser on the subject of the stories.

Thanking the crowd for attending the gig, Glasvegas ended with the brilliant Daddy’s Gone.