The Staves @ Gorilla, Manchester, 31 May

Tonight's a homecoming for The Staves, in more ways than one. Emily Staveley-Taylor, the eldest of the three sisters that comprise the Watford outfit, is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University, and speaks warmly of the friendliness she encountered upon moving here – something that's thrown into stark relief by recent events in the city, with her earlier thanking the crowd just for showing up in the face of adversity.

On top of that, though, this is the first time that The Staves have played in England in roughly a year. They moved to the United States last summer – specifically to Minneapolis, Minnesota – as the logical culmination of a long and fruitful creative relationship with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who produced their last LP, 2015's If I Was.

They recorded that album at Vernon's April Base studio in the (relatively) nearby town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, but decided they needed all the stimuli of a big city – hence their switch to the Twin Cities. They've always taken their cues from the North American likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Crosby, Stills and Nash, so it's hard to tell how much the move influenced tonight's new cuts, whether they were from last year's Sleeping in a Car EP or Tired As Fuck, an aching ballad that sounds like it could form the crux of their third album.

Amidst those, there's plenty of fan favourites, with many dispatched early on; the nervous tension of Steady, the bluesy strut of Black & White and the quietly epic Make It Holy all among them. Ultimately, though, the reason The Staves have packed the house tonight – they sold out Gorilla's big brother, the Albert Hall, as recently as October 2015 – is because they have such a rare gift for three-part harmonies. A neatly-segued double bill of No Me, No You, No More and Let Me Down is a highlight, as is the stripped-back encore, with no drummer and just the three sisters around the mic for the last couple of tracks – the classic Mexico providing a soft singalong with which to close.

LP3 might be a while off yet, but as long as the Staveley-Taylors keep crossing the pond for shows as assured as tonight's, there'll be no cause for concern.