LIVE REVIEW: The Clause, The Kairos, Heavy Weather, Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, 13/12/2025
Photo Credit: Luke Jones
It might be almost time for the big man to make his way down from the arctic circle to distribute presents but it isn’t Santa Claus were interested in tonight … instead it’s the Birmingham indie rock quartet The Clause who released debut album Victim Of A Casual Thing back in October. The release reached the number one spot on the Independent Album Chart, and we would get to hear ten tracks rom that very album tonight.
As we arrived at the always special Saint Luke’s church, West Lothian band Heavy Weather were just taking to the stage. With a personal favourite track of theirs LFC being played right at the start of the set, these guys are the real deal. They are another band to step on to the West Lothian conveyor belt of breakthrough bands over the past few years, to name just a few The Snuts, Brooke Combe, LF System and Dictator are other examples of this, can we still get away with calling it the ‘Susan Boyle effect’? that’s were she is from after all. Getting back to the music Heavy Weather have a small group that seem to have travelled along the M8, we are hearing a few different influences in their music such as Wunderhorse and Fontaines D.C. The band released an EP back in April titled And Now The Weather, The Sweetness Of Doing Nothing is left right to the end of the twenty-five minute set that left a good impression on those that got down early. 8/10
A quick refreshment and then upstairs to the balcony was in order for the main support band The Kairos that would also allow us a better view of this stunning building, old churches always seem to have the best acoustics. Frontman Tom Dempsey swaggers on to the stage and shows straight away why The Kairos are destined for much bigger things, here is a band that have toured with James, Red Rum Club and The Reytons already and had a homecoming show at Liverpool’s O2 Academy in November 2024 that was completely sold out. The half-hour is packed with uplifting indie tunes that would have pleased the capacity crowd with early tracks Suspend and The Thick Of It getting the fans right behind them while new track Tell Me Twice was sounding great live, Rat Race and Punchline Fistfight ended a high-intensity set that will help to cement a sold-out Glasgow show the next time they are in town. 9/10
As Oasis track (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? plays over the PA system the crowd are chanting along before an almighty roar goes up at 8.45pm as The Clause take to the stage for their biggest headline show in Glasgow to date. We first saw them support The Reytons around the corner in the famous Barrowland Ballroom back in November 2022 then twice at Liverpool’s Sound City Festival so we knew it was going to be a highly-charged set especially with the debut album now released. Opener Nothing’s As It Seems has quickly become an anthem for the Birmingham band as the chorus is passionately chanted back at the stage “I sing myself to sleep/cause Nothing’s really ever as it seems”, we couldn’t have asked for a better start. This is followed up by Tell Me What You Want, another track from the Victim Of A Casual Thing whilst Fake It is an early contender to be one of the best of the fifteen track set. Vocalist Pearce Macca has been a standout so far and he is joined on stage by Liam Deakin (guitar), Jonny Fyffe (bass) and Niall Fennell (drums).
Electric was released back in 2022 and we can still recall this being one of the standout songs at The Barras that year, it’s the same tonight as it is played flawlessly by all four musicians on the stage and the fifth member (the crowd) making it sound even more huge. The mosh pits are opening up now … it is a Saturday night in Glasgow after all! I Don’t Care is another singalong moment from the set and Where Are You Now? released way back in 2018 is written about a member of the band’s family that passed away, the torch lights are on for this one and it is a very poignant moment of reflection. Don’t Blink was written about their home city of Birmingham and Pearce tells us that it has been the best year yet for the band, he also says their ambition is to play the Barrowland Ballroom and we think that could be the venue when they next come to Glasgow on tour.
There are two songs still to play in the encore and everyone in the room just knows what two songs they haven’t heard yet. Weekend Millionaire taken from the 2024 EP of the same name has the crowd explode back into life amid utter chaos down in the standing area and last song In My Element does pretty much the same. The later is right out of the Liam Gallagher songbook as just about everyone joins in with the vocals “Flying high, in the sunshine/I won’t lie, I’m coming up, I feel a rush of blood/I’m in my element”. We couldn’t think of anywhere we would rather be this Saturday night and will watch with interest what happens with all three of tonight’s band during 2026. 10/10
Written by: Alan Brown
