The Futureheads @ The Liquid Room

Having patented the style, The Futureheads do barbershop punk better than anyone- even if there is precious little longevity in such a musical straitjacket. So let's get the inevitable it-all-sounds-a-bit-similar gripe out the way and get on with the gig in hand. Decent Days and Nights is a nought to sixty in zero seconds opener, with singer Barry doing his best maniacal glare and guitarist Ross hurling his instrument within inches of the ceiling. The disclosure of their first new material since the overly cerebral News and Tributes suggests a return to the zip of their debut. Think is a typically pugilistic offering, Hard To Bear is a good broken-hearts song and The Beginning of the Twist is already a crowd-pleaser. The Futureheads' own neck-dwelling albatross is, of course, Hounds of Love, but they introduce it in perfectly deceptive fashion as "a cover now... Deep Purple's Smoke On the Water". A witty evening then, but - and this can't be left unsaid a second time - it does all sound a bit similar. [Nick Mitchell]