It’s a chilly night in Glasgow outside as you breathe in it’s the kind of cold that stings your nose and even has the potential to make you a bit lightheaded. Fortunately downstairs in the venue it’s....bloody freezing as well. The converted church basement (possibly the crypt?) of Oran Mor doesn’t really lend itself well to warmth but that aside the atmosphere is good. Groups of people fill the chairs and tables laid out for the night’s proceedings and others stand around chatting about Philip Glass. It’s a perfect indicator of the type of person you’d expect to find turning out for tonight’s main act.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen’s self-titled album showcased a selection of beautifully elegant compositions with delicate instrumentation and a perfectly exercised amount of restraint. It made for one of the most relaxing and rewarding listens of 2011 and its inclusion on a number of ‘best of’ lists has done nothing to hinder the attendance at tonight’s show.

Composers Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie, now accompanied by three strings players, stay quiet for most of the show, with just a brief introduction and ‘thank you’s at the end. The music says everything it needs to though with the gentle swell of songs like the wonderfully titled ‘We Played Some Open Chords and Rejoiced for the Earth Had Circled The Sun Yet Another Year’ . Everything rises and falls with ease and a sense of flawless timing, each peaceful drone never overstaying its welcome. Each piece is given time to slowly fade out before the crowd shows their appreciation as one might in a grand concert hall listening to an orchestra. In a way this is a classical music concert, but tonight, instead of pieces being played that are years old, it’s something new and fresh, being recreated by the men that put it together in the first place. It gives the music a sense of genuine passion and purpose that is much bigger than the small room we’re all standing in tonight.

The light show and visuals are subtle but this restraint is a perfect fit for the sounds floating from the stage. The acoustics are great for the most part, with the occasional excess of low end that is sadly merely a result of the venue’s limitations. This does little to dampen the overall sense of wonder at the ingenious musicianship on display, and there’s a rapturous extended applause at the close of the set; no one can argue that they haven't earned it. If you haven’t got a chance to see A Winged Victory for the Sullen this time around then make sure you don’t miss it a second time, you owe it to yourself.