Twin Atlantic at The Academy, Saturday 2 May 2015

Although tonight at The Academy is not a sold out show, the devoted Twin Atlantic fans descending on the venue bring more than enough dedication and atmosphere to the night.

First up are More Than Conquerers. The Belfast band open with their impressive set that bears striking resemblance to the headliner’s sound. Then, Raglans take to stage for their first appearance in Dublin of 2015, after heading out to Soundwave Festival in Australia amongst other international appearances, the band treat the hometown crowd high energy performance that includes their established crowd favourites such as Natives and of course Digging Holes. As well as this, new songs Icarus and The Bitter End stand out in the set and Raglans manage to get what was (prior to their appearance) a relatively static crowd suitably warmed up.

Having formed in 2007, Twin Atlantic have been around for a while, but their last album ‘Great Divide’ really took things to a new level, exploring a new side to the band. Tonight’s show includes some of the newer material, whilst still dropping in a few treats for older fans. The band punctuate their generally animated and fast paced set with slower, more melodic numbers, with Crash Land (featuring a pretty cool cello solo) standing out as a clear fan favourite, as it has throughout the years.

Likewise Yes, I Was Drunk has one of the loudest crowd reactions of the night and builds up from the slow and dark beginning to a sing-along chorus.

The band are known for vocalist Sam Mctrusty’s unique voice and there’s no denying that his abilities have improved massively over the years, and do not falter throughout the set. As well as this, for a front-man who was once slightly more shy and reserved on stage, he has really learnt how to get a crowd involved. From getting them to repeat lines to getting everyone to sit down during I Am An Animal, the crowd are undeniably under Twin Atlantic’s spell. Twin Atlantic, completed by Barry McKenna, Ross McNae and Craig Kneale each show separate talents. With everything from drum solos to incorporating piano and cello into their set, each member has their moment to shine.

The band finish the set on two songs from the last album, Brothers and Sisters and Heart And Soul, which perfectly captures the bands roots in the slightly heavier elements whilst providing a sing-along chorus as the night comes to a close. They choose not to finish on What is Light? Where is Laughter? a song which was one that captured a lot of fans in the first place (from their mini-album ‘Vivarium’) and choose not to include You’re Turning Into John Wayne in the set at all, a bold move but one which stands to their credit. The fact that they’re choose to end on new songs, not ‘established favourites’ or predictable encore choices and choose to not include some songs at all shows that they’re looking to the future, which if tonight is anything to go by, should be very bright for Twin Atlantic.

Despite the fact that they make no secret about their disillusionment with the music industry in their songs, the energy and passion they show on stage shows that they are still very much in love with the music.