Xvectors

What's so new about rave? The neon glow emitting from hundreds of sweaty kids tribally dancing to strobe-infused grooves suggests little has changed since the heyday of 808 State and the Hacienda. But if you look deep beneath the fluorescent lighting of these bass-laden discos you'll find the acid-house euphoria of the late 1980s has made way for an altogether more modern form of hedonistic hip-shaking. The days of pill-popping and 24-hour party people are over. Rave is no longer the underground movement of yesteryear - now they call it a scene.

When debut album Myths Of The Near Future blazed its way to number two in the charts, the sci-fi throb of Klaxons triumphantly straddled the NME sponsored throne of 'new rave'. But after recent proclamations of deadpan indie-ness, the London-based quartet's crown rests a little unsteadily - especially with the breathtaking nihilism of Shitdisco lingering menacingly in the shadows. It seems a new rave coup is not too far off, and in the guitar-driven electro of Xvectors, Edinburgh may just have found itself an heir in waiting.

The rattling neo-punk-funk quartet formed in 2003 and quickly established themselves as the antithesis of the local scene's post-Libertines jingoism. Fusing !!!'s fuck-you polemic with the boorish fervency of Green Velvet, their live sets were a relentless mass of resonating beats and thrashing guitars that seamlessly bridged the divide between clubbers and gig-goers long before the New Rave phenomenon was contrived.

A string of startling shows, including a couple of floor-shaking Optimo homecomings, brought them to the attention of the nation's record labels and in November 2006 their debut single 'Now Is The Winter Of Our Discotheque' was released on OSCarr records. Nuzzling up to the bosoms of Madonna and Kelis at number 67 in Mixmag's 100 Records Of The Year, its intoxicating hook and twisted synths were rapturously received by clubbers and became a firm favourite with mainstream DJs like Rob Da Bank and Steve Lamacq.

This year, the band have been touring Europe with the aforementioned kings of the genre, Klaxons, and their fervid disco-fuelled chaos returns to the UK for an appearance at this month's Triptych festival. Lining up with the mighty Fujiya & Miyagi, Xvectors are sure to be one of the highlights in a glutton of warped Scottish acts that includes The Royal We's siren-stomping glam-pop, the ragged new-wave racket of Park Attack and Errors' throbbing electro anarchism.

We're still none the wiser to what actually constitutes new rave and unless some all-knowing marketing guru at IPC Media ever divulges the ingredients, the mystery looks set to remain. But rest assured, when the glowsticks fade and the scenesters latch on to another culture-sucking fad, Edinburgh's Xvectors will continue to have you raving away to the unique sound of their own beat.