Live Review: Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow

The queue of people that tapers down the Stewart Street side of the Corner Hotel this evening is littered with them. Walking to join the end of the line, they're impossible to miss. Thick, possessed Scottish accents. Whether teenage girls or balding men, it seems every second person here sounds like they've just stepped off the set of Game Of Thrones, and it's glorious.

For those (few) who would be unaware why the Scots are in Richmond tonight, upon entering the Corner bandroom and seeing Admiral Fallow on stage, all questions are answered. The five-piece Glaswegian group, fronted by hirsute Louis Abbott, are making the crowd swoon with their sweet, sweet tunes. Reminiscent of Snow Patrol (hell, Glasgow's just a quick swim from Belfast) for all the right reasons, their melodic folk-pop strikes a chord with the swelling audience inside.

The normally cool bandroom is anything but tonight; reminiscent of sweaty Corner gigs from days gone by. Cardigans grace the arms of bespectacled punters the room over, but it's not unpleasant – just warm enough to feel the thirst rise up and create longing glances towards the bartender. Admiral Fallow finish in a flurry with the flute-laden The Way You Were Raised, and then a break in proceedings allows a quick dash to the car to ditch the cardigan, before returning to check out the recently-refurbished Corner front bar (lads, rejoice – new toilets! So fresh and so clean, clean).

Of course, by the time Frightened Rabbit take to the stage, the person in charge of the air conditioning has turned up and, in compensating for the past two hours of heat, turns the bloody thing to 11. Some serious cardigan envy ensues, but when the band arrive on stage all is forgotten. They open with Holy from their latest – and excellent – record Pedestrian Verse, and the enthusiasm dished out by the audience is exceptional, and only gets more intense when frontman Scott Hutchison lurches into The Modern Leper. It's clear there's a huge Scottish ex-pat contingent in the audience, but the knowledge of the band's music is impressive from all corners of the crowd.

December's Tradition and the beautiful State Hospital showcase Hutchison's glorious accent then proceed to go fully hectic Wall-Of-Sound, and before anyone knows what's happening the band take off and it's just Hutchison and his guitar, accompanied by an almighty audience singalong on Poke. After finishing with the awesome Swim Until You Can't See Land and Acts Of Man, Frightened Rabbit return for a lacklustre encore, which actually proves a slightly disappointing climax despite including The Woodpile. It's time to get that cardigan and escape into the night, ears ringing and face plastered with a smile.