Reviews

And with live appearances being even rarer than long players, it is these hardcore fans that rewarded Paul Buchanan and Robert Bell with deafening applause even before a note had been played in anger.

It was a welcome that was justified when the low drone of the synthesisers on Seven AM kicked in and the vast cityscapes that the group are able to paint started to conjure in the collective mind’s eye.

Working on the principle that the city and its citizens each have their story to tell, Buchanan’s songs explore the human condition wonderfully. There’s no let up in the emotion expressed by the frontman either; The Downtown Lights, for all that it sounds like a busy Friday evening and street lamps reflected in puddles, has a fade-out of wrought intensity that shows on the singer’s face - presumably as much as when he penned the words.

Yet he’s clearly enjoying his music at the moment as well. As he shimmies with the Telecaster on Stay, there’s a smile as wide as the Firth of Forth on the faces of both full-time members’ faces. If PJ Moore was sharing the stage too, you’d lay your life on the smile count rising by a third.

Manchester International Festival’s pledge of unique acts is brought complete circle when Buchanan announces he’s to play a song that hardly ever gets a live airing. As the gentle piano intro to Family Life slowly echoes around the hall, there are audible gasps from an audience that can’t quite believe their luck.

Leaving the fans on a feel-good note, the heavy bass of Tinseltown in the Rain and the urban lovers’ re-jig of Strangers in the Night ended a show that promised much and ultimately delivered. The band may only show us in fleeting glimpses that they love us but we’ll forgive this errant partner every time.