The Barents Sea carried on Transmission's 1st birthday celebrations by undertaking the headline slot with a view to boost an already rapidly growing live reputation. The Perth based five-piece stopped by Stirling University Student's Union as part of their O' Brother Of Mine Tour promoting the release of their single of the same name. With three guitarists in the band, we knew it would be loud but didn't quite expect it to be as loud as it was. Still, despite the volume, the sound remained well managed and tightly delivered.

The set was in stark contrast to singer Grant George's last appearance at Transmission: a solo set in November where he asked everyone to sit down as he played very ambient versions of The Barents Sea tracks. As in that night in November My Name Is A Reminder and I've Got The Right Idea were tracks that immediately caught one's imagination. Lyrics that focussed around the mundane nature of being in your home town and being broke are themes all too familiar to many of us in the audience. O' Brother Of Mine was also delivered with great precision and demonstrated as being a more than worthy single. The set was powerful but not beyond reason with singer Grant occasionally straining to notes normally reserved for kids with balloons filled with Helium. 

The Barents Sea proved to be a big hit amongst the Transmission faithful and clearly demonstrated their standing as a headline act. This is definitely a band worth catching in an intimate venue so as to get the full effect. Tune to check out - O' Brother Of  Mine. O' Brother Of Mine single and Bear Island mini-album are available via The Barents Sea's Myspace page - www.myspace.com/barentssea