Pastels/Tenniscoats @ Stereo, 2 Sep

There's something of a coming-of-age about tonight's opening set from boxfresh Glasgow indie-poppers Veronica Falls (***). Roxanne Clifford and Patrick Doyle, alumni of the sadly-missed Royal We and the un-Googleable Sexy Kids, have now formed a quartet whose spare and intense sound sees them approaching their full potential. There's an awkwardness to their stage presence, but enough Orange Juice sparkle in the guitars and genuine enthusiasm from the crowd to suggest a healthy future.

The Pastels (***) know a thing or two about coming of age. Although lynchpin Stephen McRobbie has become something of an elder statesman, his perennially adolescent outfit have never settled for long nor become cynical enough to ever really grow old. Though on record their collaboration with Japanese duo Tenniscoats threatens to push them into 'mature' territory, there's enough enthusiasm in their collective live show to allay any fears that they've lost it.

The collaboration takes the two main tenets of Pastelism - a wide-eyed wonder at playing music, and darkly clumsy sexuality - and firmly foregrounds the former; this is unconsciously mirrored by their onstage formation, which sees the holy trinity of Stephen, Katrina Mitchell and Gerry Love huddled round a pillar on the left while the trumpet player takes centre stage. Any hint of school-orchestra worthiness, however, is offset by the tunes: there are kaleidoscopic delights from album Two Sunsets, while scrappy snippets from the Pastels' past become things of wonder; there's even a deranged pop interlude from Tenniscoats tossed into the encore. The clear highlight, however, is the muscular, erotic pulse of Pastels back catalogue behemoth Baby Honey, which gives us hope that when they finally return with their next album 'proper', these vivid youths won't forget that while beauty has its place, ugly can be lovely too.