Art Brut @ Stereo, 2 May

If H&M made indie bands, they'd be like Boycotts (**). There isn't a hair or note out of place, and while their new-wave-rock is competent, it's also hopelessly sterile. Plus, if you drank every time the singer artfully ran a hand through her fringe, you'd be steaming by the end of the first number.

Luckily, The Robocop Kraus (****) pack several bands' worth of invention into their set. Imagine a German Mystery Jets with a penchant for Devo and a Stop Making Sense-era David Byrne on vocals; yes, they're that good.

But Art Brut(****) aren't out of the game just yet. As a considerably worse-for-wear Eddie Argos powers onstage for a vigorous rendition of Alcoholics Unanimous, it's clear this is a band who haven't lost it. They deliver a set that's noisy, shambolic and hugely exhilarating as it threatens to topple towards chaos at any second (witness the band's roadie holding Argos's mic like a leash as he wanders around the audience). Art Brut's music isn't beautiful or innovative, but their worldview is inspiring, and while they're never going to be zeitgeisty again, their "slap dash for no cash" ethic should have ripples on the musical pond in decades to come. If it doesn't, Eddie Argos will fight you.