The Kills - Glasgow Oran Mor

The last time we clapped eyes on The Kills, Alison ‘VV’ Mosshart spent the duration of the gig striking note-perfect sonic repetitions, her face aimed at the floor, blowing endless clouds of second hand smoke into the fizzogs of unsuspecting fans whilst amp-shredding sidekick Mr Hince coated the set in walls of brutal distortion. They were one of the most primal live acts we’d ever seen; like Jack n Meg had they grown up in a downtown arthouse community as opposed to a cotton field.

Today, however, times have changed: paparazzi vultures skulk the venue walls for a bulbflash of Hince's partner Ms Moss, scenes come and go quicker than you can mutter ‘Grindiecore’ and you’re likely to spend a night in the clink should you reach for the Marlbrough Reds indoors. But if you ever expected the Kills to hop on the bandwagon bus to Neon-land, think again.‘Midnight Boom’ may have ushered in a more groove-based direction, but the blues-trash duo are still on visceral, uncompromising form.

Opening with two dusty gems, ‘URA Fever’ and ‘Superstition’, their skeletal clatters strut along like a loop-fed bulldog and at every twist and turn, there’s a distinct dangerous energy to The Kills’ opening salvo that’s as rare as it is exhilarating. Psychedelic, Factory-era lighting swamps the stage, flitting between blackouts and disorientating strobe attacks. ‘Pull A U’s breakneck fret assault sees Hince mock-gunning the front rows with his guitar.‘Good Ones’ blasts out in a wave of narcotic-laced fuzz, VV’s seductive swagger pinning down one of their best moments amid a tropical drum frenzy. Sadly they duck out of softer moments such as debut closer ‘Gypsy Death And You’, but as ‘Fried My Little Brain’s’ reception attests, this crowd are hungry for garage rawk thrills. “Won’t move over/Won’t Get Gone’’ buzzes Mosshart, coiling her trademark leopard skin throw in the air and thwaking the mic stand throughout.

The duo leave the stage only to return with ‘Cat Claw’, which is greeted like Obama himself just took to the mic, and proves the Kills can still whip out a pocketful of pop hooks just at the right time. A welcome return, then, and it gets better - this was the first night of the tour.