Kharma 45 @ Cabaret Voltaire

With the room still and fractionally full but show time nigh, the sound-man looks at his watch and gives an ambivalent thumbs-up before Kharma 45 come out rocking as though Cab Vol was ten times bigger and packed to the gills. Frontman Glenn Rosborough lets loose with his best Thom Yorke — bobbing spasmodically and belting out vocals far larger than his wiry spark plug body looks like it could produce. The sound is consistently thick but never excessive or sloppy. High-hat flourishes, deft guitar picking and tasteful, melodic basslines are all discernable. Programmed backing tracks, indicative of the group's edgy electronic sensibilities, are used to good effect to fill out the mix. In the soaring but non-pyrotechnic baiting guitar solos, traces of U2 can be discerned; in the thrumming bass and funky rhythms, an appreciation of The Stone Roses and other Manchester acts is apparent. Yet, ultimately, these boys carry their own sound, and it's electrifying. [Ben Howe]