Explosions in the Sky @ Glasgow Barrowlands, 19 April

Should they be responsible for some of the most soul-achingly beautiful music ever recorded – and from a post-rock perspective at least there’s a compelling argument in favour – then bearing witness from the floor of the Barrowland Ballroom as Explosions in the Sky forge such sonic algebra should be benediction, rather than counterintuitive.

It’s not as if there’s a lack of enthusiasm, Munaf Rayani bouncing to the mic expressing gratitude that we’ve turned out in force. And as they launch into Tangle Formations – opening track of a set dominated by the recent, excellent The Wilderness LP – it’s all there; the shifting contours that ride above the bass lines, each wave of guitar breaking upon the shore. With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept arrives in utter dissonance before falling transmogrified to subtlety and expression; Disintegration Anxiety, with its subjugation of clanging chords and random keys, a celebration of the calibration of noise.

At times this really is quite mesmerising… and therein lies the issue. EitS make music to feel by – a stunning proposition on one basis, yet prompting disconnect on another, the lack of interaction, intimacy, or collective live experience, alongside the band’s sheer professionalism (even a blown amp doesn’t derail the soundscape) representing a barrier between stage and crowd that’s difficult to circumvent. A pristine recreation of sound craving raw edges, perhaps; an hour and a quarter’s worth of set, no encore, and we’re spat out into the night a little confused as to what we’ve just experienced.