@ Glad Cafe, Glasgow on Wed 9 Sep 2015

Houndstooth are a band who have been perfecting their unique style for a few years now, producing two albums, Ride Out the Dark (2013) and this year’s No News from Home (2015) along the way. Having spent a lot of time on the road, they have developed into a very impressive, dynamic live act and this is evident in this intimate show.

Kicking things off with one of their more pensive songs, Green Light, Kate Bernstein sings, ‘You can’t take it with you when you go.’ She has a very distinctive, almost hypnotic tone to her voice which draws you in. Her deadpan delivery, like Courtney Barnett‘s, is reminiscent of garage rock. As she bobs along to the opening numbers, it becomes clear that her laidback style is a perfect match to her co-frontman, John Gnorski, whose jagged guitar riffs and snarling vocals give the performance an added rawness and intensity.

This onstage chemistry is most obvious in Witching Hour, a track from No News from Home. This is a highlight of the set, led by Gnorski, who is unapologetic in his delivery: ‘You call me a lost cause, I plan to keep it that way.’ The steady rhythm speeds up, until it becomes a real rocker of a number, and comes to a crashing finale.

Despite the unpolished and raw feel to their performance, Houndstooth still possess the ability to write dreamy pop melodies, as seen in Baltimore and No News from Home. It is on these folksy pop numbers that their Portland origins shine through the most. But when the set moves towards the edges of melancholy and wistfulness, the tempo picks up again – the band have a tendency to enjoy extended jam sessions at the end of songs. It’s clear that these are people who enjoy what they do and this energy feeds into the crowd.

The band seem genuinely humbled by the reaction of their Glasgow audience, Bernstein saying that “it’s amazing to come across the world and for people to know your songs.” They even show appreciation for everything Scottish, from whisky to… err… Scotch tape. After a huge version of Francis, they play a two song encore, as requested by their audience. Bliss Boat is a fitting end to a brilliant night. Each member of the band has a chance to shine, and they egg each other on to an epic climax.