Photo + Words: Olivia Macrae
Scottish alternative rock n’ roll piece Twin Atlantic landed their first gig of 2026 at Stirling’s Albert Hall on 9th June.
The XCERTS opened up the night with both old classics as well as some unheard unreleased stuff from their upcoming album ‘i think i want to go home now.’ This will be their seventh album, and from what I heard from this 30 minute set, it should be a good one. Frontman Murray Macleod frequently chatted with the crowd and gushed over how buzzing they were to be back on the road with Twin Atlantic, despite hurting his ribcage and admittedly not being as ‘jumpy’ on stage as he usually is. The last time The XCERTS were on tour with Twin Atlantic was back in 2014 with Nothing But Thieves, so tonight’s show definitely felt like a full circle moment being on the same bill as them again.
The XCERTS had an incredible sound with heavy guitar work and an emotive alt-rock feel to them. ‘sinking feeling’ was an unreleased setlist track, and I felt it captured exactly that. ‘rinse repeat’ was also a great listen, and of course their older classic ‘Feels Like Falling In Love’ closed the set with that sleek nostalgic feel that The XCERTS seem to incorporate so well across their discography.
By 9pm our headliners of the night Twin Atlantic kicked off their set with ‘You Are The Devil’ with fantastic energy across the board. Frontman Sam McTrusty quickly introduced the 2nd song of the set ‘Don’t Quit It’ as its live debut – a song they just recently released at the end of May as a tribute to Scotland’s upcoming World Cup this weekend. And, as tonight was also Twin Atlantic’s first gig of the year, it was only right to play it so early on in the set.
McTrusty shared with the crowd how much he loves playing on home turf. “It feels like playing in your own living room,” especially after not playing live in a while. From looking around the room you could easily tell there were some real fans in the crowd. I spotted some old merch tees from previous Twin Atlantic tours, and McTrusty chatted with one fan at the front who flew over from Finland for the show.
I think a crowd favourite must’ve been ‘Free’. Sam got the whole room singing the chorus, and I left the gig with that song stuck in my head on my way home. I also liked that the drummer was on a high lifted platform for the set. It meant the crowd could easily see him behind Sam, and I wish more bands invested in similar platforms so that drummers aren’t forgotten or hidden at the back.
The setlist was nicely mixed, dipping in and out from different albums and ended with an acoustic version of Crash Land by McTrusty which felt like the perfect closer for the set. This was my first time seeing Twin Atlantic live, and I’d love to catch them again later down the line.
Listen to ‘Don’t Quit It’ on Spotify HERE.
Taped Magazine 