Dot to Dot @ Various venues, Manchester, 23 May

The funny thing about the Manchester leg of Dot to Dot festival – now in its fifth year – is that while the event itself has gone from strength to strength, they’ve never come close to matching that initial lineup. Back in 2010, a bill that included the likes of Beach House, Wild Beasts, Blood Red Shoes and Los Campesinos! certainly provided startling value for money, but the decision to hold the festival primarily across the university’s Academy venues – most of which are under the same roof – really negated the ‘dot to dot’ concept and, in turn, the sense of occasion.

Now based primarily at the other end of Oxford Road, with Whitworth Street West’s Ritz and Gorilla the key stages, Dot to Dot Manchester certainly feels far better organised – and, in that respect, makes for a more enjoyable day out – but another uneven line-up this year demanded a very specific taste in alternative music for full enjoyment.

Honeyblood are a definite highlight: they play an early evening set in the barely-suitable surroundings of the apparently hastily-designed Zombie Shack Hawaiian bar above the Thirsty Scholar. The Glaswegian pair tap into their home city’s iconic C86 sound but, like Veronica Falls, there’s just a hint of something sinister bubbling beneath. Aggressive new cut Killer Bangs goes over best with those assembled, but the gentler Bud is more representative of their overall sound.

You certainly couldn’t accuse the organisers of failing to take advantage of every space possible: as usual, all three floors of Sound Control are in play tonight, as is the basement over at The Ritz. Barbarossa’s set at the latter, though, is a bit of a damp squib. It’s likely down to the type of music that James Mathe plays: it’s difficult to translate low-key electronic pop to the live arena. He certainly tries to inject some genuine emotion, but the sense that his particular sound will never be totally engaging on stage is inescapable throughout.

He comes off better, though, than fellow Londoner Luke Sital-Singh, who headlines the Deaf Institute with a half-hour set of insipid folk songs. Take the thumping hangover from the NME-coined ‘nu folk’ scene – Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Noah and the Whale before their singer suddenly adopted that ridiculous cod-American accent – and combine it with the fact that we’re living in a post-Bon Iver world, and you're almost there.

While we're down that end of Oxford Road, though, it seems daft not to drop in on The Pizza Underground’s show across the street at Zoo; it’s not every day you get to see a child star in the flesh, especially one who you were often likened to, appearance-wise, as a youngster. (We began moving in different physical directions when he discovered heroin and I got into beer.) All I knew – all many of us knew, to be fair – about Macaulay Culkin’s outfit was that they were a pizza-inspired Velvet Underground tribute act, but that doesn’t really tell you half the story. They are fucking weird. It’s a bizarre spectacle; the music is very heavy on group vocals, with minimalist instrumentation including one member banging on a pizza box. Knowing Lou Reed, he’d probably have loved it – their sound gives Metal Machine Music a run for its money in the tuneless dirge stakes.

Thankfully, there’s a hell of a high note to sign off on over at Gorilla, even if it involves a frankly ungodly stage time of quarter to one in the morning. Real Estate are worth it, though, with a gorgeous set that leans heavily on their beguilingly dark latest, Atlas. Talking Backwards and Had to Hear are among the picks from that particular release; the blend of intricate guitar lines and subdued vocals is perfectly geared towards late-night listening. They drop a handful of older cuts, too, with Green Aisles and It’s Real evoking the biggest reactions from the crowd.

Though the festival is perhaps still finding its feet booking-wise, they've got what should be the difficult part, on paper – cultivating a great atmosphere up and down Oxford Road, and having everything be remarkably well-organised – down pat; and this eccentric little event is still no bad place to while away the day on a May bank holiday weekend.