Sky Larkin - London 12 Bar Club

Be honest: most of your favourite on-record indie-pop acts are dangerously dull in the flesh.

Well, not so Leeds trio Sky Larkin, who may well baulk at the categorisation anyway – they flex raucous live muscles that give their sometimes slight recordings real weight. Plus, they’ve the most metal drummer in the whole of their field – his name is Nestor, and if ever Wichita wanted to manufacture a doll of a member of one of their bands, a ‘Face-changing Nestor’ would be a sure-fire winner. The man’s ever-contorting expressions make for great sideshow entertainment.

But comedy gurns aren't tonight's sole draw. We’re here – and the industry’s most-discerning indie ears are in attendance – to hear the band play songs from their debut album ‘The Golden Spike’, due for release early next year. Well-used to life on the road already, the Larkin are a reliable live attraction, never disappointing, and tonight finds them if not at their best then certainly hugely enjoyable.

The venue’s not ideal – no amplified act of note can sound good in a room this small – and getting a decent vantage point without some part of the band being obscured is something of a mission… But never mind that, because it’s the music that matters and the famous 12 Bar Club is as good a venue as any to pack a room tight and unleash The Rock upon it, albeit The Rock of a decidedly pop-savvy nature. Vocalist Katie guides most of the songs, her crisp words coming through clear atop fizzy keys, rumbling bass and shredded guitar; but it’s Nestor who provides the essential backbone, keeping could-be-classics like ‘Fossil, I’ and ‘Molten’ on the straight and narrow. The stage might be looking insecure, but at no point does the band’s focus slip.

Which does make for a rather dry show – there’s a little band banter, flashes of smiles at recognition of friendly faces, but this won’t go down as the most impressive Sky Larkin gig these eyes and ears have been present at. In terms of communicating next year’s record into the heads of the previously uninitiated, though, it’s a successful night – barside chatter minutes after their early finish (they’re on first, two following acts playing to a near-empty room) is almost unanimously positive.

And rightly so – Wichita rarely make signings that prove dodgy, and they’ve a safe bet on their hands here. Give Sky Larkin just the smallest break and they will soar with such immediate songs at their disposal. The next Bloc Party they’re probably not, but the next Cribs…? Could be, could be…