The Twilight Sad: New Century Hall, Manchester – Live Review

The Twilight Sad | Deary
New Century Hall, Manchester
2nd May 2026

Searing emotion defines the Scots rockers’ first Manchester show in seven years

James Graham is a self-effacing frontman at the best of times, and would perhaps be the first to admit that coming to see this latest iteration of his band, The Twilight Sad, represents a fairly niche idea of a good Saturday night on the town. That’s especially true now that the Scots are out in support of their sixth album, It’s the Long Goodbye, which chronicles Graham’s mother’s decline with, and ultimately death from, dementia, in such unflinching language that it warrants comparison with the gut-wrenching likes of The Antlers’ Hospice and perhaps even Mount Eerie’s A Crow Looked At Me.

Those gathered at New Century Hall, though, were in for something special. This is the first time in nearly seven years that the band have played in Manchester, and they have an impressive new live lineup; Graham and the band’s only other permanent member, Andy MacFarlane, are joined by former Primal Scream bassist Simone Butler and one-time Mogwai drummer Cat Myers. They help flesh out the signature, searingly noisy indie rock sound that convinced Robert Smith of The Cure to take the Sad under his wing; they have been his go-to support band for over a decade, and he appears on three songs on It‘s The Long Goodbye. Incidentally, tonight’s support, Deary, provide a stirring counterpoint to the headliners, playing a gorgeously woozy set that draws heavily from last month’s impressive debut album, Birding.

The Sad’s latest, meanwhile, dominates their set; the mood flits between the furious, broiling soundscapes of Get Away From It All and Waiting For The Phone Call, on which Graham lays bare his despair, and the unsettling, paranoid likes of Inhospitable/Hospital and opener Dead Flowers, both of which are thick with dread. One of the most affecting new tracks is Back To Fourteen, which heartbreakingly details his own psychological regression with a sonic tenderness unusual for the Sad.

For Graham, performing these songs live represents an exorcism; he has always been an enthralling frontman, wringing ever last drop of emotion out of his songs, and now more than ever, a Sad show is an exercise in catharsis. Just as impressive is his ability to tap back into the mindset he wrote the classics in, particularly the always-beautiful Cold Days from the Birdhouse, as well as And She Would Darken The Memory. The band’s last album, It Won’t Be Like This All The Time, is well-represented, too, proof that the electronically-tinged likes of Vtr, Videograms and The Arbor have stood the test of time. The Twilight Sad have always been a band to wear their hearts avowedly on their sleeves, and the raw, exposed-nerve grief of the new record’s subject matter might make it too difficult a listen for some. For those willing to meet the band on their emotional level, though, there is genuine release on offer.

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The Twilight Sad can be found at their Facebook|Instagram|website

Words byJoe Goggins: find him on Xhere

Photos by Tattianna Tibbetts |Instagram