Twin Atlantic, Y Plas, 02/11/2014

Twin Atlantic are one of the best live bands around today. It's fact, and it's proven each and every night of The Great Divide tour which sees the Glaswegian quartet play across the UK with support from fellow scotsmen The Xcerts and the incredibly talented Nothing But Thieves.

Up first were Nothing But Thieves, a relatively unknown band from Essex. They were amazing. They're difficult to pinpoint genre-wise but in their case, it really doesn't matter. The musicianship was tight and vocalist, Conor Mason, has passion physically visible and a voice that could make anyone's heart melt. This isn't the only time you'll hear of these boys, they'll be featuring as my Band of the Week very soon!

Following shortly after were The Xcerts, a gorgeous trio from Aberdeen who are starting to get places. Playing on the eve of the launch of their latest album (watch out for a review later in the week), the band were excited and pitch perfect. The gig was going so well for them they even went in for an ambitious sing-a-long which only excited frontman, Murray Macleod, more. Seeing them live really emphasises why the likes of Kerrang! and Rock Sound are praising the band as the next big thing so greatly. They are something different and they are something special. When a band is this good live, you know they are destined for great things.

As if it wasn't enough that both support acts played amazing sets, Twin Atlantic played a supernaturally amazing set. I was unsure about how good Twin Atlantic would be live until I saw part of their set at Reading Festival and I was left an excitable mess all the way up until Sunday night to see them live again. Of course, they did not disappoint. They played for nearly two hours spanning pretty much all of their newest LP, Great Divide, half of their previous LP, Free, and they even threw in What Is Light? Where Is Laughter? from their debut, Vivarium. Throughout it all, they never lost energy, even when frontman Sam McTrusty was left struggling for breath, he still sang his way through songs such as Crash Land perfectly. Towards the end of the set Sam gave a self-confessed "acceptance speech", thanking everyone including guitarist Ross McNae's beard. He forget, however, to thank his now trademark on-stage look: the rain coat. It was white tonight and came off pretty early on but it deserves a mention nonetheless. It was a pretty magical gig and Cardiff University's freshly refurbished nightclub, Y Plas, was the perfect setting for it. With a balcony up top, some fans got a stunning view of the action and on the small dancefloor below, the crowd as one bounced, jumped and swayed to every beat possible. It's gigs like this that make fanbases grow and allow bands like Twin Atlantic to reach the heights they deserve.

I'd catch Twin Atlantic while you can, because with performances as good as this one, they'll soon be selling out arenas in minutes.

Nothing is better than hearing Crash Land live #twinatlantic #greatdivide #tour #live #cardiff

A video posted by Alice (@kell_soopreez) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:34pm PST

Setlist

The Ones That I Love
Hold On
Fall Into The Party
Make A Beast Of Myself
Edit Me
Be A Kid
The Ghost Of Eddie
Cell Mate
Rest In Pieces
I Am An Animal
Actions That Echo
Yes, I Was Drunk
Time For You To Stand Up
What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?
Free
Crash Land
Why Won't We Change?

Oceans
Brothers And Sisters
Heart And Soul