Diet Cig / Bruising @ Broadcast, Glasgow, 10 Jan

If guitar-based pop music is so simple, then how come so many people make such a hash of it? The crucial ingredient that separates the wheat from the chaff is always good ol’ intangible, mysterious magic – a je ne sais quoi that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Take Bruising, for example: write down the theory and there’d be little to separate ‘em from any other bunch of Primitives-influenced noisepoppers, but they stand out thanks to the sheer majesty of gems like irresistible latest single Emo Friends, and tonight their turbo-powered performance wins the Leeds quartet a whole bunch of new friends in Glasgow. They’re exuberant as fuck and hella awesome, and that’s really all you can ask for.

Speaking of exuberant, Broadcast isn’t quite prepared for Alex Luciano. The Diet Cig singer/guitarist bounces relentlessly around the stage like a four-year-old with a spacehopper, high-kicking and dropping to her knees in mock rock poses before reeling off breathless, fast-paced spiels about tour life and “everyone’s problematic favourite” Taylor Swift. It’d be quite easy to decide she’s commandeered all the world’s tartrazine if this delirious, fuzzing energy didn’t also translate to their punky, Go Sailor-esque pop, and by gosh, Diet Cig’s songs are good.

They’re best when they play with dynamics (slow groove Sleep Talk recalls Mates Of State and later Matt & Kim in its wry subtleties) and everyone gets a chance to drink in Luciano’s clever-kid-confessional lyrics, but when they rev up and go full pelt, it’s best to just watch ‘em go. It’s early days for this band just yet – one 7” and a cassette EP ain’t much to tour on – but something about their winsome energy pegs ‘em out as a band to fall head-over-heels for, schoolkid-style. Practice writing their name on your exercise books now.