Dartz! @ The GRV, 17 Sep

As Super Adventure Club take stage and begin to strip paint from walls with their opening effort, it would seem an early doors arrival has been validated. However, it’s a mixed bag of tricks from there. Math Rock - a pithy side-swipe at, guess what - is not the surface-to-air ballistic missile the band may think it is and favours as many joyless sojourns down patience-testing routes as any of the bands they are mocking. Maybe that’s the joke. But with Pick Up Sticks’ simple rhythm and punchy chorus, it’s clear that this comedic trio are far more enjoyable when they play it straight.

Cryoverbillionaires are far more earnest all round, which sadly doesn’t seem to equate to popularity. As their blistering opener Hope is met with near-silence, save a polite clap or two, the awkwardness is palpable. This audience, it seems, have come with pre-set allegiances and need to be won over. Things warm up enough for singer Darrell Wilson to feel game enough to instruct us to "Dance bitch!", though the resultant Trail Of Dead-esque belter makes this an onerous task. A shame really, as COB are the best of tonight’s bunch.

Dartz!, on the other hand, are lapped up, and it seems the Middlesbrough four-piece are getting used to it. With effortless aplomb they entertain and amuse, espousing far-flung touring stories that belie their fresh faces. Musically there’s enough going on too. Some straight-up indie fare for sure, with a predilection for Futureheads’ style heightened vocals, and even a smidgeon of, whisper it, Emo. St. Petersburgh, it appears, is the track people are here for, and rightly so, proving that Dartz! can take their myriad reference points and distill it into two minutes of down-tuned punk funk. We came looking for little more. [Darren Carle]