Meursault @ The Queen's Hall, 7 July

The ornate Queen’s Hall is more usually host to choirs and string ensembles. Tonight, Sparrow and the Workshop's Jill O'Sullivan and Strike the Colours' Jenny Reeve pave the way for our headliner with a pleasant set of new songs, sitting at the quieter end of Sparrow's rootsy output. The duo – calling themselves Body Parts – have a promising dynamic. Meursault's label (and sometime band) mate, Lancastrian native Rob St. John also provides a dark and funereal half hour with highlights from last year’s Weald album, including the death march of Domino, leaving the room with an oddly gloomy sort of euphoria.

Something for the Weakened feels like a game changer for Meursault; the sheer volume of new songs Dull Spark and Dearly Distracted is now simply too much for Edinburgh's tiny club venues, and a well turned out string ensemble (see, told you!) adds the necessary grandeur to a band that have come a long way from their electro-folk roots. With three roaring guitars onstage for much of the set, big single Flittin' prompts a tentative singalong, whilst a bizarre stage invasion adds some surrealism to the joyful atmosphere. There's a sense that this is a huge moment for a band finally on the cusp of throwing away the shackles of its local scene