False Advertising @ The Castle Hotel, 5 Aug

Manchester: so, so many bands to answer for right now. Is that really the rapidly changing means of distribution and access, or simply an increasingly committed local musical bedrock? A collection of acts, based on the ever-bulging local listings, that now sees dozens of city centre venues promoting live music every night of the week. And to stand out, you've gotta stand out. Credit to those providing a platform for emerging talent, but do drop us a line from your home planet next time you catch a multi-band showcase with more than one that makes you forget your pint.

False Advertising headline this five-act bill for End of the Trail Records but so far in advance are they of the under-card, their performance is a jolting reminder that time to grow and develop is one thing, but core talent is everything: the Manchester trio were a prospect from day one. Non-stop gigging (including recent prestige slots at Kendal Calling and Liverpool Sound City) and writing since the release of their tremendous 2015 debut is one thing, but if you've nothing to polish in the first place...

So, for this shortened but deeply satisfying set, they get ferocious with a batch of diamonds old and new. Wasted Away and I Don't Know are blistering reminders that the album really was a wonder: a fiery and cerebral reworking of classic US alt-pop. But the new material showcases an ever-expanding songcraft and a deepening musicality, and Alopecia and You're Too Slow (from the follow-up Brainless EP) take the honours.

As Jen Hingley commits to the latter, lost in the music and wrapping herself around its stop-start dynamics and that breathless, sweet-sour chorus, it's a pointed reminder that exceptional performance doesn't necessarily equal memorable spectacle. Still, tough audiences (fans at the front, polite interest further back) and poor sound mixes (Hingley is barely audible at times) are ten-a-penny, and what don't kill ya... False Advertising rise above. Still, thrillingly, just getting started.