WITH a band name that suggests a somewhat jaundiced worldview and song titles that wouldn't look amiss on a Smiths' album, you might be surprised at how uplifting The Twilight Sad are live. Dour lyrics, delivered in distinctive north of the border tones over a swirling racket that recalls fellow Scots The Jesus and Mary Chain, may not seem like party music, but you can dance to it, in a twitchy, Joy Division kind of way.

New record 'No One Can Ever Know' has a good outing tonight and though the themes seem as dark as ever, the keyboard lines keep it upbeat, possibly reflecting the influence of producer Andrew Weatherall. Old favourites like the cheerfully titled 'I Became A Prostitute' and the ever brilliant 'That Summer, At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy' are received by much air-punching from a clearly delighted crowd.

Yet lead singer James seems so utterly lost in the maelstrom, so passionate in his delivery, as mesmerised by it all as we are, that you wonder if he appreciates the adulation. I catch him at the end and ask. "Oh aye, thanks, we love playing Nottingham," he grins. "Though I didn't realise anyone else was here."