Camera Obscura, CCA, Glasgow

Tracyanne Campbell needn’t have added a disclaimer as Camera Obscura took to the stage for the first time in two and a half years. Despite offering apologies in case the band were ‘a bit shit’, from the opening bars of ‘Let’s Get Out Of This Country’ it’s as if the Glasgow four piece haven’t been away at all.

The hometown gig was in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research and Glasgow’s Beatson Cancer Research Unit, with the Centre For Contemporary Arts completely sold out for the return of one of the city’s best loved bands of recent years.

The set, unsurprisingly, leans heavily on the band’s two most recent albums, with songs from their early days somewhat consigned to history since the departure of John Henderson (splitting the band’s history neatly in two). What’s more surprising is the quality of the three songs taken from their forthcoming album; ‘Break It To You Gently’, ‘Every Week Day’ and ‘Do It Again’ all provoke genuine intrigue among the crowd of 200 or so. They’re different enough to suggest progression, but at the same time familiar enough for fans to accept them just as warmly as the likes of ‘French Navy’ or ‘Hey Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken’.

The band bring the curtain down on the evening with two crowd pleasers in the form of ‘Honey In The Sun’ and ‘Razzle Dazzle Rose’. The audience may have been somewhat smaller than what’s gone before - with previous shows at Glasgow’s Barrowlands and New York City’s Grand Ballroom dwarfing the CCA for capacity - but it’s no less receptive of Tracyanne Campbell and co.’s performance, leaving them to walk off the stage with unilateral applause in their ears.

It may have been two and a half years since we last saw them, but Glasgow welcomes Camera Obscura back with open arms - and going on the strength of new material, they won’t be the only ones glad to see them back, with this comeback performance looking set to kick off a bumper year for the group.