When we last saw The Klares they were playing an all ages gig with Blood or Whiskey last summer in Fibbers .Tonight they are headlining The Grand Social. It’s great experience for the schoolboy band who have noticeably grown up in the past year. Tonight’s gig is more about showcasing their ability and gaining experience than anything else.

The set draws from their two EPs, 2013’s Dirty Birds and last year’s Cookoo. They have added to their set too, with upcoming single ‘Sparks Alone’ and the new song ‘Black Huarache’.

They have managed to draw over a hundred people to the show on a Monday night which is nothing to be sneezed at. And the fanbase that they have established is young, well dressed and rabid. They sing back every word of the old songs and even know the new stuff before it has been released. The Arctic Monkeys influence is still strong but The Klares are beginning to find their own rhythm and their own voice. Singer and frontman, Andy Burke in particular, has grown in confidence and presence. His voice is stronger and he throws himself about between verses, picking out individual members of the audience to sing to.

The music is characterised by the single note riffing and rapid downstrokes of early Arctic Monkeys and Libertines. It’s a high energy performance and there's a casualty in the pit during the first song. It’s a rare outlet for the young rockers of Dublin and they are making the most of it. The occasional pit opens up and there’s some friendly slamming going on. New song, ‘Sparks alone’ inspires some jiving on the dancefloor. The new material proves they know when to hold back as well as how to floor it. Instruments drop out of the mix here and there, and the song breaks down in the middle before bursting back to life with a massive final chorus.

The sound mix is spot on as usual in this venue and The Klares close out with the now traditional closer, a version of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile’ with a low end Noel Redding would be envious of.

The boys finish school this summer and have managed to get their parents approval to pursue music full-time. That is probably a greater achievement than anything they have done so far. We’ve been promised new material and some big shows after their exams. Watch this space.

Saint Patrick’s Day weekend is the liveliest time of year in Dublin. This year, it coincides with Easter and the centenary of the 1916 Rising so the city is in extended carnival mode. It’s a good moment for the Mariannes to release their new single, ‘The Black Diary Waltz’, inspired by the trial and execution of Roger Casement.

The Workman’s Club is set up cabaret style with tables and chairs at the front of the stage to facilitate the older members of the audience. The six members of the group fill a stage which offers little room to move at the best of times. Lisa Loughrey opens proceedings with a tin whistle lead melody and her Mary Coughlan influenced voice.

The bands modern take on traditional music combines mandolin, keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. There are beautiful harmonies amid the rock structures of ‘I Still Remember’ while drummer Nathan Maher provides counter melodies to Loughrey’s lilting tones. The band are looking every inch the trendy folkies with plaid shirts and beards as they swap instruments for ‘Maybe Here’ and Jack Cassidy sits at the glockenspiel.

Loughrey puts on a guitar and sings the next song plaintively to slow strummed chords before the rest of the band kick in and the song changes tack unexpectedly. She notes in surprise that “The place is jammers” and the packed house shout encouragement. Indeed there are so many people that they are sitting on the floor between the tables.

Next song, ‘Ache in my heart’, has banjo and slide guitar giving it an Irish-American feel and the densely populated stage gets more crowded when Mongoose’s Muireann Ní Cheannabháin joins the band on cello for the performance of the new single. Cassidy switches to melodica as Loughrey mournfully intones “The battle was lost before the judgment was passed”.

There is more swapping of places for ’Thirty Years a Maid’. Ní Cheannabháin and Loughrey are joined by Handsome Handsome’s Niall Murray for a mournful sean-nós style eulogy to a hard life. The three sing with eyes closed to a reverential silence in an otherwise noisy room with only some reverb for accompaniment.

Loughrey tells the origin stories of many of the songs before performing them. As she is telling the story of the haunting of Saint Audeon’s, about how a catholic girl fell for a protestant boy, it elicits a gasp of mock horror from the audience followed by gales of laughter. After so many years, sectarianism is now treated with the ridiculous response it deserves. The Mariannes finish with a flourish, ‘The Ballad of Darkey Kelly’, a song about Ireland’s best known female serial killer. “And she's with us tonight!”

For a band who are yet to record an album to play well over an hour of original material is impressive in itself. They encore with ‘Lost with All Hands’ and ‘God Fearing Woman’ before exiting to a standing ovation. Granted, most of us were standing already but nevertheless…

Watching the Mariannes is like reading a book. A gothic fantasy that builds an immersive world in which to lose yourself. It's lump in the throat stuff. It ain't cheery but it's moving in such a way that you don't want it to end.

It's not all murder ballads, hauntings and doomed love.

But it mostly is.

Four venues and three weeks of intensive shows, The 1975 are back and raring to go on their UK tour. But it’s no wonder that by the time the guys reach their final Glasgow gig on Sunday night at the O2 Academy, they’re ready to chill out for a bit.

Which is a testament to their latest album. I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It is an evolution of the self-titled 2013 LP. Gone are the pop rock chart toppers, and enter the languid 80s post-rock vibes. Tonight’s performance started out as such and who can blame them, it’s a 22 song set. Quite a risky move but when you’re new LP is 17 songs long, you could kind of guess it was going to be a jam packed evening.

The whole show is flawless as the band batter on through their catalogue of tracks. 10 tracks from the latest album were played tonight including ‘Love Me’ as the opener. Really, the fans didn’t need any more encouragement to love them. Even though the band seemed chilled, as soon as they came on stage it was pandemonium with crazed fanatical screams that you would expect from a One Direction show. A very surreal experience.

The mood changes over the course of the night going from eerie with ‘A Change Of Heart’ to the more mellow 1980s pop on ‘She’s American’. The only issue with this though is there is a heavy emphasis on the mellow tracks coming one after the other. But lead singer Matt Healy manages to keep the crowd’s attention with his swish, languid moves around the stage.

If you thought it was going to stay chilled, then that all changed when fan favourites ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Sex’ start strumming out in the encore. After chanting from the crowd, everything lit up and Healy was encouraging the them to sing. These guys know how to work the crowds and will do for years to come.

They have so much more to give. These guys are so flexible, even if just from the range of tracks they have in just two albums. They are bizarre, they are mellow and everything else in between. Here’s hoping that this tour is just the start of The 1975’s best year yet.  

It’s time to get your reverb out, and loosen up that vibrato arm because Surf’s up at Henry’s Cellar Bar tonight; and eye spy, I’ve already spotted some ho-dads hanging around the door looking conspicuous, maybe looking for trouble? but probably just looking for the gents ...  

It’s a busy night at Henry’s - the smallest venue in town (or at least that’s what it feels like). I’m very happy to hear that Edinburgh has a surf scene; or at least enough surf bands to host a whole evening of instro action.

Edinburgh fabled five piece Surf Manchu are already in situ when I arrive, and I have it on good authority that they’ve been playing for around 50 mins! Describing themselves amusingly as ‘Not so much SoCal, kinda more NoSco’. They’ve certainly made an effort to at least look the part, with polynesian shirts and fezzes, no less. Always a welcome sight.They are both youthful and enthusiastic, and I caught them playing Dick Dale’s 'Miserlou' and the ‘60s Batman theme - both of which are always good value. I hope to catch their full set next time.

Onto the Head Henchmen. The fantastic foursome take to the tiny stage. They say that ‘they still can’t decide whether they are a surf rock band or a sledge rock band’ check out their facebook page for more info on that one. Whilst not looking like most traditional surf bands, what they lack in that department, they make up for with sheer exuberance and a lovely longhorn bass guitar. Superficialities and joking aside, they are quite impressive. Their set is a mixture of self-penned numbers and choice covers, all performed with capability, pounding drums a-go-go. The give us a weird and wonderful mixture of tunes; the Tetris theme tune (an excitable young lady informs me), The Shadows’ ‘Apache’; the first but not the last Shadows cover of the evening. I would like to know a) when did The Shadows become cool?* b) why no Shadows Walk?**. Ending their set with a fabulous version of Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’.    

Lastly, but by no means least-ly, it’s time for Preston Pfanz & The Seaton Sands. You may recognise a few of them from various other Edinburgh ‘60s repro bands over the years such as The Thanes and Les BOF!. And this particular band, although very modest about it, are definitely in a different league. They have a distinct presence. Kicking off with Link Wray’s ‘Run Chicken Run’, and then onto the more esoteric ‘Black Sand Beach’ by Kayama Yuzo (swoon!). They continue driving through their set effortlessly with a varied and cool mixture of surf / drag / spy and horror instros, along with more from the Shadows. Frontman Angus McPake challenges the crowd to a dance contest, but I don’t think the crowd are quite that tipsy, and to be fair there isn’t much space to Twist effectively, never mind Hully Gully.

They dedicate a rendition of The Beatles ‘Please, Please Me’ to the recently deceased 5th Beatle George Martin, as well as ending their set and encore with ‘Cry For A Shadow’. 

*I’m yet to disassociate them from Cliff Richard.

**The Shadows Walk is three steps within a 60-60-60-degree triangle with a reverse right-heel back-kick with optional can-can finale (source: Wikipedia)

If you missed them this time, Preston Pfanz And The Seaton Sands will be playing at the official after party for The Scottish Tattoo Convention at Studio 24 on Sunday 27th March details which can be found here.