2016’s been a bit of a year for Twin Atlantic. The obvious case-in-point is the release of ‘GLA’, their most confident and carefree album to date. When we chatted with them back in the summer, ‘GLA’, they joked, was more than an album, but a state of mind. “Like an attitude,” said Sam McTrusty. “Whenever anything comes up, we will just be like fuck it.”
It’s a few months down the line, and the newfound frame of mind has led to the most liberating year for the band, from returning to headline 2000 Trees – a personal high point of their year – to topping it off with a wee residency at Glasgow’s Barrowlands later this week.
“People seem to think that this is an important record for us, so that’s a cool feeling,” explains Sam. “It’s cool. It’s pretty refreshing because we were sort of on route to falling into a formula rock band album release, where you just repeat the same thing over and over again. We’ve been pretty picky and choosy about what we’ve done so far. We decided to take a year off and get back to doing shit that we think challenges us. So [the ‘GLA’ era has been] challenging and refreshing so far.”
On top of taking the album all over, they’ve also had the chance to warm up just behind the ol’ Ballroom itself at a show in the far more humble St. Luke’s at the end of November in a stripped back affair. “I loved it! There wasn’t anything to hide behind,” he recalls. “The last show we did in Glasgow was in King Tut’s and you can kind of hide behind, ‘Aw, it’s a special occasion’. Given that we’d played a lot bigger venues in Glasgow, you can get away with making it a fun night, whereas playing at St. Luke’s, I felt a bit more exposed, which was interesting. I felt like I had to play really well and try really hard. There was no real pressure I suppose, but it felt like a new audience, it felt like there were lots of people there I didn’t recognise. It was cool.”
All of which should be ample preparation for returning to a stage they’re no strangers to. “We’re pretty confident, man. [The Barrowlands is] a venue that we know really well. The first time we ever played, I was so overwhelmed, I don’t really remember any of it. Then the second time I tried to play it cool, like ‘Aw, I know what I’m doing’ and then I still was like ‘Holy shit, what am I doing on this stage?’ Now I feel that we’re quite comfortable as a band and as people and I think it’s going to make the show at lot better than our previous ones there.”
The Barras is just one of those venues. It’s got a bit of mystique around it. It’s been around for so long that generations of Scots have shared memories there, so it’s always felt that little something extra for bands. “It’s where the youth of the city go to let their hair down. Because it’s been going for so long, it’s obviously steeped in history, but also our families and all our families’ histories have a story from there.
”So you go there, and you feel like it’s a rite of passage or something as a Glaswegian, it’s not ‘Aw, I’m just going to a gig’. You’re adding to the venue’s legacy, and you’re adding stories to your family’s. You know, ‘Aw, my granny and grandpa met there’, ‘Aw, I went to see fucking Primal Scream there’ or whatever. It transcends the gig-going experience. The crowd know that and the band know that, and all the people who are working the show know how special that is because it doesn’t happen every night – especially now that most venues are owned by a corporate phone conglomerate where it can be the same experience night after night. So the band tends to play better, care more, the fans too, then it’s just this kind of loop. It works for the fans, it works for the band, it works for the promoter, it’s just a much better experience for everybody.”
Well, Twin Atlantic will be adding to the venue’s legacy yet again with this trio of home shows, and in the spirit of ‘GLA’, it’s likely to be another opportunity for the band just to let loose and say: fuck it. Let’s go for it. We can’t wait.
Twin Atlantic play Glasgow Barrowlands from 13th-15th December. New album ‘GLA’ is out now.
