The Dykeenies are described as “an art pop five piece” and, with a little help from their friends at NME, they have been propelled into the public consciousness as corollaries to the tradition of efficient, easily digestible pop-rock exemplified by the likes of Maximo Park.

This tour promotes their debut LP, Nothing Means Everything, which was released in September last year. The Dykeenies eschewed the usual rounds of obscure pre-deal gigs to concentrate on refining their songs into easily identifiable, catchy pop tunes. The hard work has paid off, and much of their accelerated success seems to be explained by their engagement with their audiences; The Dykeenies were unflaggingly enthusiastic, conversational, and honest.

Much like their presentation, their music is a straightforward, unpretentious mix of high-tempo, jaunty guitars, well-sculpted vocal lines, and extremely competent drumming. In fact, the noteworthy feature of this gig is the sheer power and control which drummer John Kerr exercises over proceedings, seamlessly blending rolling flourishes and complex rhythmic patterning with the overall spotless, driving wall of sound produce by the ensemble.

Both commercially and musically, The Dykeenies certainly follow a successful formula. But like most formulas, it gets tedious. In short, this is fairly shallow music, played well. The finished product—and that word is especially pertinent in their case—is less than the sum of its parts: there is no spark of originality through any of their songs, and the heavy influence of Bloc Party, The Arctic Monkeys and The Futureheads seems to dominate their songs rather too much. This is "new wave" music that cannot go any further creatively; it can only be repeated and replayed with the most tentative of stylistic innovations.

The high point is the surprisingly grungy and heavy new song they pulled out for the encore. Here the more aggressive bass line, attacking drums, distorted vocals, and sawing guitars show that, underneath the predictability of their homogenised, over-practiced chart tunes, some raw talent lurks. For the most part, however, this is rock music that has had its teeth pulled, and these are songs you’ve already heard a thousand times.