Warpaint @ The Queen’s Hall, 23 August

If Warpaint’s obsession with the more esoteric moments of British goth-rock didn’t quite shine through on last year's understated debut, nods to The Cure (it’s all in the spindly guitar work) and Cocteau Twins are presented in vivid technicolour tonight.

Announcing themselves with an eponymous calling card, echoes of the Cocteaus’ Liz Fraser in particular bleed through in Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman’s ethereal harmonies. But each constituent part of the LA quartet brings a real uniqueness to the stage; swaying and apparently lost on her own frequency, Jenny Lee Lindberg’s low-end contribution is an oddly danceable complement to Stella Mozgawa’s fluid rhythms.

Between-song banter is either coyly whispered or drowned out by drunken cries, perpetuating their enigma. An early appearance of Undertow – their one true hit to date – is rapturously received and more importantly proves that they don’t need to depend on it; the juddering, irresistible groove of Bees and a lush reworking of kitchen-sink pop paean Billie Holiday from their debut EP emerge as equal highlights. Dripping with the playful conviction of a band very much on an upward creative trajectory, Warpaint prove themselves a hype worth believing. Food for the soul. [Dave Kerr]