Glass Angel don’t get too many opportunities to play together, so their gig in Stroud on Saturday evening will take on extra significance.

The four-piece band will be performing at The Prince Albert in Stroud tomorrow evening, where they will be playing tracks from their debut album that received rave reviews from the music press on its release. “We don’t get too many opportunities to get together and play – we all have children and family commitments – so we’re all excited about Saturday night,” said vocalist-guitarist Shaun McCrindle. “We’ll be playing two sets, with all the tracks from our debut album plus some new stuff which we’re looking forward to playing,” he added.

Glass Angel have been performing together for three years. Originally a three-piece group they welcomed synth player Jerome Clough into the band last year, which signified a change in musical direction. He continued: “Our original style was very much indie rock but that changed a bit when Jerome joined us. We now play a very melodic style of music. The stuff we play tends to be influenced by my teenage years of the 1980s. The music I was listening to then was the post-punk, new wave, pop music acts like Blondie and The Police. We love what we do, getting a chance to perform together is a rare treat. We’ve never played at The Prince Albert before, so we’re really looking forward to it.”

Shaun has been involved in the live music scene for close to three decades and was once a member of the Blue Aeroplanes, the Bristol-based band who played at Glastonbury in 1992. As well as playing guitar with Glass Angel he also provides all the lyrics to their songs. Said Shaun: “All our songs are written by me. As soon as I learned a few chords on the guitar I started writing songs. Songwriting is what I’m really interested in, using songs as a means of expression.

“Every songwriter does things differently, having a good title and a strong message is the key. Sometimes I’ll be strumming on my guitar and create a melody and start from there, a bit like country artists tend to do. I admire musicians like Steve Earle and Richard Thompson, their lyrics are incredible.”

It was a performance last summer that impressed the team at The Prince Albert, who were keen to invite Glass Angel to play. Explains Shaun: “I play in another band called Rock and Roll Angels, we played at the Stroud Fringe last year, that’s how I got in contact with the team at The Prince Albert. It’s a great venue for live music, any chance we get to play together is to be treasured. Getting to play in front of crowd is the best feeling, you never tire of it. We don’t play loads of gigs so we really appreciate the times we can all get together and play.”