Lift to Experience @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, 17 Aug

There aren't many acts who truly deserve the status of being a "cult" band, but Lift to Experience is one of them. After releasing their only full-length album – 2001's stunning post-rock opus The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads – they largely disappeared. Frontman Josh T. Pearson only returned to music on a full-time, writing and performing basis in 2011 with his excellent Last of the Country Gentlemen record.

At the time, Texas-Jerusalem... wasn't a huge commercial or critical success; many critics weren't really sure how to deal with Pearson's frequently religious-referencing imagery in his lyrics, but enough people at least understood their musical prowess and adventure for it to grow into a cult hit. 

So over the course of the last 15 years, after seemingly dropping from the heavens, this record's reputation has grown to almost biblical proportions. This means the crowd gathered for tonight's rare performance at Summerhall are at fever pitch. Lift reformed last year to play London's Festival Hall, and tonight is one of only a small handful of shows that have happened after re-mastering and re-releasing their record earlier this year.

What is immediately apparent is the incredible sound these three musicians produce. Despite the basic set-up (guitarist/vocalist Pearson, bassist Josh Browning, drummer Andy Young) the band make an apocalyptically loud noise that is still perfectly clear, allowing you to pick out all the intricate details. Opener Just As Was Told is played largely instrumentally, possibly due to the very fast vocals in the recorded version, but it seems also out of frustration. Pearson later explains one of his amps blew immediately and apologises, carrying on as normal from there. While it would have been nice to hear the vocals, at least Pearson atones for it.

From there on, however, they play a near-perfect performance. The album's naturally recorded sound lends itself perfectly to a live setting but seeing it performed somehow lifts this already transcendent music into something really special. Pearson's vocals soar on Falling From Cloud 9; they explode on With Crippled Wings' middle-section; they swagger on These Are the Days. All this before an incredible rendition of album finale Into the Storm which gives it all the grandiose quality such an epic song, and set, deserves.

While the band don't play the album in full (they give essentially an edited highlights version of an hour, cutting the more transitional pieces), it wouldn't really make sense to go back into older material after finishing on Into the Storm. So when it comes to an encore, which the crowd are practically praying for, Pearson leads a beautiful version of Francis McPeake's Wild Mountain Thyme to send the crowd home with a small singalong for those who desire it. Either way, there is no denying the crowd are absolutely blown away by this performance, and rightly so.