THEY were backstage, just moments after finishing their set and they all looked at each other and thought "this is going to be something".

Post Ironic State left the stage in Perth with a real sense of fervour – it was the first time they had played as a quintet and it was clear they had mastered the recipe. The group or musicians were reborn as a band – they were emboldened and hungry.

Before long they had their first single out and, slowly, they began to pick up some pace. A near-sold-out show at King Tut's was only a few months away, but there is no doubting that the Perth show in May last was a key moment.

It was not their first gig, however. That honour belongs to a showcase night at Ivory Blacks in Glasgow in early January 2019. They certainly came off that stage with some encouragement for sure, but what was remarkable about their inaugural show was the fact they had only been playing together as a band for a couple of weeks.

The band, more or less, came together in college, with Stirling singer Jai McCann, drummer Ross Stewart and Josephine "Jojo" Hawley – ever an able hand on the synthesisers – all taking the same course and coming together. Elliot Johnson – a childhood friend of Jojo's – was then recruited as the bass player.

McCann and Hawley had been playing together and had, at least, some song ideas to give the band a head start. But their first ever show was already looming.

"We had some material," Jai tells The Weekender. "Jojo and I were in a band together, but we took that to the band for us all to play it. The four us just bounced those ideas off each other in a practice room in Perth. Every practice we were writing something new. Within two weeks we had our first gig with a full setlist of songs.

"Originally, it was to be me and Jojo playing it, but we got the other guys in and it was a case of getting together, writing tons of stuff, and seeing where it went."

Looking back on the night, McCann says: "It was a showcase of bands – some had been playing around for some time and others, like us, for whom it was the first foray into live performing. It was a lot fun and there was almost an interest in what we were doing.

"But there wasn't something quite there, which was when we started to think about getting a guitarist."

Enter Calum Doig – the band had found the missing ingredient in the Perth guitarist and it wasn't long before they hit a major turning point in the journey of Post Ironic State.

McCann continues: "We recorded our first single, What the Hell is Going On?, and we had our first gig with our guitarist Calum at The Green Room in Perth.

"It was also the first gig where I didn't have a guitar, so I was free to prance around on stage – just making the most of it and going a bit mad. We were supporting on the night, but after we finished up the audience were asking for another tune, but that was our whole set.

"That was the time, though. After that first gig with Doig, we looked at each other and said this is going to be something. We realised that this might be a thing."

Doig's introduction proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle, as it granted a little extra freedom to McCann to concentrate on his own performance. Having a more natural guitarist also made a huge impact in terms of sound, giving Post Ironic State shows a richer feel.

McCann adds: "When he came if let me focus more on being a front man, as opposed to being a rhythm guitarist and singer. I'm not a fantastic guitarist – I tend to avoid it as much as possible – I really had to learn guitar to be in the band.

"People see us now as a five-piece and they'll say: 'Yeah, you were boring before'. Which is a fair criticism. I think we had an interesting sound, but we weren't interesting to see. It's very different now – when we're playing now, I'll jump off stage and walk around the crowd, etc.

"We're big fans of Walt Disco and Jojo and I brought the whole band through to see them because that's what we wanted for us. We wanted to get the crowd mental and the best way to do that was to get involved with them and be animated on stage."

Their journey went full circle before long as they returned to Ivory Blacks – armed with a fifth member and license to go for it. The difference was plain for all to see and reiterated the need to put on an over the top performance each time they take to the stage.

McCann says: "We went back for another showcase night, this time as a five-piece, and it was a massive difference. There were a lot of bands. They were just standing around, playing their songs, and while they were all good, none of them stood out – you couldn't get into it.

"Then we went on stage and we went a bit nuts. You could see the people were paying more attention. And I'm not saying we were better. But if you're not doing anything to keep people interested, no one is going to stick around for you.

Post Ironic State have, to date, released three singles with Revelation following up What the Hell is Going On? with Beck and Call arriving earlier this year. A fourth release is earmarked for the late summer with a hope of returning to live shows sometime before the end of the year.

Their material is available to stream online with videos on YouTube.