X-Lion Tamer @ National Portrait Gallery, 21 Aug

Nestled into the central alcove of the National Portrait Gallery, in front of a 13ft graffiti mural of Jesus, Tony Taylor and his preppy v-neck is a somewhat trippy anachronistic joy. A pre-planned piece of performance art couldn’t capture the surreal set-up better than the stray 5 year old who disco hops out from the sedate crowd, complete with those oh-so-enviable of childhood accessories, the high tops with intermittently flashing red lights. Against the best of intentions though, this short set seems slightly stifled by the institution; moments of glitchy synth flair nodding optimistically towards the frayed edge of peripheral abandon before receding courteously into Taylor’s MacBook. A self-effacing cover of Teenage Fan Club eventually lets X-Lion Tamer’s guard down a fraction, suggesting greater scope beyond the basic electro loops. While the Rough Cut Music programme is a brilliantly conceived idea at-large, it proves a little too restrictive for Taylor’s brand of kitschy neon disco this time around.