Noah and the Whale @ Cabaret Voltaire, 15 Aug

If there's one thing to be realised at Cabaret Voltaire tonight, it's that the kids dig Noah and the Whale. Playing to this young assembly, the Whalers steam through just about all of Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down with note-for-note precision. Indeed, the London septet spend much of the show colouring within the lines of their folk-pop debut whilst mostly steering clear of the LP's slower moments. The quick pace doesn't prevent the blue-and-yellow troupe from delivering a charming performance, however, with inspired highlights like Shape of My Heart - where the band lull the crowd for an intro, then shake it up with a blast of brass - and the sombre ballad to balance the otherwise cheery pop session arriving in the form of Second Lover. The ukelele-fuelled Five Years Time proves to be as big a hit with the crowd as it has in the singles chart, but a hasty encore of 2 Bodies, 1 Heart proves practically unnecessary after superior set-closer Rocks & Daggers already raised the roof to its limit. [Jason Morton]