THE SCOTTISH veterans made their first appearance in Brighton in 12 years and made up for lost time with a career-spanning set that veered between poignancy and a party.

A Belle And Sebastian gig is always a warm, inclusive affair and singer Stuart Murdoch went to great lengths to make his audience feel involved here. At one point he popped up in the upper tier of the Dome, still singing to the band’s pumping disco hit The Party Line, emulating a similar stunt he had pulled the last time he was in Brighton.

Seasoned Belle And Sebastian fans will be familiar with their crowd-pleasing ploy of inviting audience members on stage to dance along, and here a merry group of revellers bopped to the upbeat tune of The Boy With The Arab Strap, from the 1998 record of the same name that propelled the band to indie fame.

It was impossible not to wear a beaming smile as the jubilant scenes unfolded, even if you were one of the unlucky people that didn’t make it onto the stage.

It seems implausible that Belle And Sebastian’s first two cult albums – Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister – are now over 20 years old, and at times during this show it was slightly disorienting to match up the inward-looking group beloved by wallflowers everywhere with the exuberant pop-rock band they have now become.

That isn’t to say they’re no longer capable of introspection. Murdoch has always been astute at capturing everyday experience – and especially romantic relationships – but it was pleasing to hear him hone down on his personal life in more specific ways here.

Set opener Nobody’s Empire emphatically explored the effects of his ME illness that rendered him bed-ridden for much of his youth, while he introduced the sublime Piazza, New York Catcher – to my mind one of the finest songs of romantic whimsy – by calling it the “origin song” of his union with his wife.

That all came off the back of another touching moment. Mark Jones, founder of Jeepster Records who released the first two Belle And Sebastian albums, proposed to his fiancé in the audience after being introduced by Murdoch. In any other concert that would stand out as a memorable moment but there were so many to pick from here it seemed an almost normal event.

The band rattled through a number of songs from their most recent work How To Solve Our Human Problems, a body of music split into three EPs. The Same Star saw backing singer and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Martin take lead vocals to arresting effect, and a ripping solo from Stevie Jackson only boosted the song’s appeal. We Were Beautiful, however, fell flat, the track’s uninspired chorus failing to convince.

This didn’t begin to spoil a set that was mostly a joy to behold. As the band’s encore concluded with fan favourite I’m A Cuckoo – an impassioned tale of lost love – we were left hoping they won’t wait another 12 years to return.