The mighty wind of nationalistic fervour whipped up by the Scotland men’s World Cup-qualifying exploits creates plenty of momentum for Tide Lines as they steam into the Usher Hall on the back of their new album Glasgow Love Story. Kicking off the Scottish leg of their UK tour, the idea of playing songs from a record that romances a city at odds with the nation’s capital serves as a rueful plot point, but a breakout of hostilities regarding which condiments to sprinkle over your chips was never in the offing tonight.

Backlit on a raised platform and framed by video screens showing animated Highland landscapes and suburban Glasgow skylines, Tide Lines’ two-pronged USP blends traditional Scottish music with anthemic folk pop. With the nation’s self-esteem on a momentary bear run, the band get their hooks in from the first cast. The clapalong stomper ‘Heroes’ and a tumultuous ‘Any Heart In A Storm’ has the audience caught up in call and response, with guitarist and singer Robert Robertson front and centre, encouraging forth a sea of arms and soaring voices. Signalling a shift into the trad instrumental ‘Pìob Mhòr’, one punter bellows ‘mon ra bagpipes!’ (surely a long overdue cheer for our national instrument) and sends the room into reels worthy of a Newtonmore wedding.

Cutting down the performance space for ‘Bring The Summer’, Gaelic ballad ‘Co-Thràth’ and the poignant ode to Glasgow’s shipyards ‘By The Quayside’ creates a stripped back intimacy that shows the band’s versatility and their sense of how best to present the material. Shortbread tin sentiment aside, only the most cynical of hearts would fail to be stirred by it. That emotional intensity peaks in the encore, and the sound of a room united in singing set closer ‘Far Side Of The World’ could rattle the whisky glasses from Edinburgh to Alness. 

Tide Lines, Music Hall, Aberdeen, Thursday 18 December; Inverness Leisure, Inverness, Friday 19 December; Corran Halls, Oban, Saturday 20 December; reviewed at Usher Hall, Edinburgh; main picture: Cameron Brisbane.