By Jordan Campbell

After impressing at Glasgow’s Stag and Dagger festival in April, Australian band DMA’S returned to Scotland where they played a set that may become a reference point in their inevitable rise to stardom.

Heavily influenced by 90s Britpop, the trio’s raucous sound was buoyed by the addition of their two travelling guitarists, not to mention the nostalgic acoustics of Motherwell Civic Centre.

Dressed in their usual baggy look, frontman Tommy O’Dell sported a full Burberry polo and trademark cap, but his laid-back style belies his voice, which sounded even crisper live.

On a night when Celtic were in town, Rangers were playing Aberdeen at Ibrox and Gorillaz were playing the SSE Hydro, it was testament to their growing fanbase that the 1800 capacity venue was almost sold-out.

They didn’t disappoint either, as a relentlessly energetic 90-minute setlist brought out the best in the famously boisterous west coast crowd.

Enough sweat was shed in the Civic Centre mosh pits to be mistaken for the nearby Strathclyde Park, and it was all too much for one girl hoisted on someone’s shoulders who decided to discard her top – as well as another layer.

Opening with So We Know, they were eased in to proceedings, but after the driving guitars of Feels Like 37 there were only a few moments of rest bite thereafter.

The band’s more heartfelt tunes, Delete and Step Up The Morphine, were expected highlights and helped balance the tempo, but arguably the two song that garnered the best reaction from the crowd, outwith Timeless, came in the encore.

Atmospheric tracks Play It Out and Lay Down, which brought the gig to a close, were sandwiched either side of a new anthem in the form of Emily Whyte.

Live, they are a very tight outfit who have struck the right chord between musicianship and stage presence.

DMA’S are approaching the end cycle of touring their 2016 debut album Hills End, which peaked at 36th in the UK charts, but this was a promising sign of what is to come on their sophomore record.

New single Dawning is in a similar vein to their existing material, but the second of three new tracks performed, In The Air, suggested a more refined approach relying on their knack of uplifting melodies rather than powerful guitar rhythms.

Whilst DMA’S are not a band that have an eclectic range of sounds at this stage of their development, they possess an innate ability to carve out a euphoric chorus; a formula surely too fruitful to dry up anytime soon.

The band’s collaborative approach to song writing is mirrored on stage, with Johnny Took and Matt Mason sharing the limelight; the Sydneysiders exude rock ‘n’ roll confidence but it’s not contrived.

After touring the UK in recent weeks as The Kook’s support act, they thrived as headliners.

It is yet to be seen whether their next batch of songs can trump the heights of Hills End, but one thing is for sure: the next time DMA’S are in Scotland it won’t be for £14 a ticket.