Live Review: The Smith Street Band, Restorations, Nuclear Summer, Army Of Champions, El Alamein

With such a great bill tonight it's no surprise that a solid crowd has turned up early, and the few primo vantage spots that X&Y Bar's narrow shape affords have already been nabbed by the time locals El Alamein kick off, the four-piece's distinctive brand of post-hardcore shambolic rather than technical but delivered with plenty of volume. Cycles from new EP, New Patterns, is the highlight of a strong set.

Next up are fellow BrisVegans Army Of Champions, who favour a more rock-based take on punk, reminiscent of bands like Social Distortion and Against Me! at times as they lace their anthemic songs with plenty of melody to augment the angst. Songs from recent album, Animal Versus Man, feature heavily, and this band threatens to become as awesomely fearsome as their name implies.

After a short lull Nuclear Summer hit the small stage like a dervish and the place erupted - they're clearly for the most part preaching to the converted. You can't fake conviction and these guys are heaps real, offering a mixture of aggression and technical proficiency that both pummels and intrigues, with passages of beauty amidst the maelstrom. Their new songs show a marked progression in craftsmanship, and whether or not you buy into what they do, they're clearly great at it.

Philadelphian five-piece Restorations look delighted to be here, and they get a great response for their urbane brand of heavy indie rock, reminiscent of older bands such as Knapsack and at times Fugazi as they meld power and melody and even get some four-part harmonies happening – sophisticated without being predictable, never an easy balance.

Finally it's time for Melbourne punks du jour The Smith Street Band to launch their second album, Sunshine & Technology, and by the time they kick off with the title track the place is jammed like a sardine can, the sound fine but viewing almost impossible for those under eight-foot tall. The album's obviously already resonated heavily with their fans, because newer songs like I Want Friends and Tom Busby get equally good responses as oldies like Get High See Mice, the place jumping with joy for the bulk of their all-too-brief set. On record these songs rely on their dense tracts of lyrics but onstage it's the music that provides the impetus, although vocal hooks dominate songs such as the incredible Young Drunk, a brilliant treatise on that impulse to drink to oblivion, couched in such a persuasive fashion that it becomes like a mantra. There's moshing, crowd-surfing and camaraderie in spades, but mainly just great music – this young bunch from down south are more than one to keep an eye on: they've already arrived.