Glasvegas, that extraordinary life-affirming synthesis of Phil Spector, the Velvet Underground and the Jesus And Mary Chain, played an outstandingly good gig at the Duchess on Sunday.

Although conceived and nurtured on the mean streets of Glasgow, their music – underpinned by a psychedelic blizzard of sound - transcends time and place and goes straight into our waiting hearts.

Led by charismatically enigmatic frontman James Allan, Glasvegas hit the ground running with a storming version of the desperately sad Flowers And Football Tops, one of the many highlights from their eponymous Mercury Prize-nominated debut album. Geraldine, a gut-wrenching anthem about our splintered society, and the introspective It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry, maintained the frantic pace amid an atmosphere which was tender, sweet and tough, all at the same time.

Powered by a tremendous display of drumming by Jonna Lofgren, strangely reminiscent of a young Mo Tucker from the Velvet Underground, Glasvegas gave old favourites such as Go Square Go and Ice Cream Van subtle new edgy twists, whilst airing newer songs If and The World Is Yours. These were anthems worthy of the name.

But they saved the best for last. Lots Sometimes, one of the stand-out tracks on their criminally-underrated second album Euphoria Heartbreak, was a sensation, with Allan squeezing every ounce of emotion from a classic take on lost love, whilst the plaintive Daddy’s Gone, Glasvegas’s signature tune, brought the curtain down on an unforgettable evening. Allan and his black-clad band were back in the city where they say they love to play and, my goodness, it showed.