Wolf Alice @ Albert Hall, Manchester, 25 September

Ellie Rowsell, when she spoke to The Skinny back in March, was about to step on stage at the O2 Arena, but her greater concern was not that Alt-J support slot but the small question of her band's upcoming headline tour. Their biggest outing to date, it was a trek that would see them pitch up at Manchester's Ritz. "I hope we can fill it…" she said. Fill it? They flattened it, and followed up with a similarly triumphant date at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire days later. And now they’re back, only this time they step up to the prestigious Albert Hall and the 'sold out' notices have been up for weeks. 

The crucial difference is that six months on, Wolf Alice are here touring in support of My Love Is Cool, a debut album that delighted in unseating the wary by adding all kinds of angular pop invention to the guitar frenzy of their live shows. A properly accomplished first outing, already it sounds like a 'best of.' And tonight they tear it to pieces. With anticipation building after sterling support from Drenge, the atmosphere is electric and stays that way throughout.

From a bruising opening one-two of My Love Is Cool and Your Love's Whore, to an encore of Turn to Dust, Blush and Giant Peach (the packed floor seethes), Wolf Alice are a skull-crushing live proposition. Even drummer Joel Amery's tender ballad Swallowtail does little to calm the tumult, culminating in a mass sing-along. Four years down the line and suddenly, Wolf Alice, for all the right reasons, are a big deal and who can argue? Arenas and festival headline slots beckon. Ellie, get worrying.