Frank Turner @ QMU, 15 Oct

Hailing from hardcore heroes Million Dead, and with his recent album Poetry of the Deed adorned in punk rock iconography, one would expect Frank Turner to show some serious edge in his nigh two-hour set. Unfortunately, and despite a clear passion for performance, what’s delivered is a largely toothless set of pop rock. Turner’s assets – charisma, a cache of anthemic sing-alongs, and a reverence for singer-songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic (Bragg, Springsteen) – connect with the huddled mass of barely-legals, but there seems little ingenuity beneath the sheen of energy. Songs like Nashville, Tennessee and Try This At Home strike the right chords, but a say-nothing rant about ‘politics’ – which undermines his performance of Deed highlight Sons of Liberty – shows the man’s not saying too much new compared to his forebears. And while good rock music doesn’t necessarily need to be constantly reinventing the wheel, it shouldn’t go too long on worn tyres. [Jason Morton]