Live Review: City Calm Down, Ali Barter, Middle Kids

Middle Kids have been the talk of the town as of late and were here to kick off tonight's proceedings with their twangy pop-rock. They tested some tracks with the audience who seemed to dig it, but Edge Of Town (aptly) hit the spot.

Ali Barter drew a crowd; some already fans, some soon to be. Barter's husky voice was the centrepiece of her and the band's grungy pop, washing over the crowd as we grooved along to new and known tracks. She hashed out Girlie Bits, harking back to '90s guitar pop, and closed out her set with biting number Far Away.

City Calm Down conjure up images of The Smiths and The Cure, but the fact that they were playing to a sold-out crowd implies they need no comparisons. The four-piece chose to kick off their show with moody lighting and a smoky haze, before kicking it into gear with Son - injecting some colour into the lighting.

Jack Bourke's voice and level of assuredness are what anchor the band as a mainstay in the moody-pop genre. His distinctive baritone is hard to ignore, drawing you into an introspective bubble as he sang Pleasure & Consequence and Border On Control. Up until In A Restless House, the title track of their epic second full-length, the crowd was rather subdued, but this and Your Fix set out to change that, proving an elated, toe-tapping end to the set.

The crowd were disappointed when the band exited, but weren't quite sure whether to call for an encore as the house music came on. But, much to our surprise, City Calm Down wandered back on stage to do a jubilant rendition of David Bowie's Let's Dance to see us off in a danceable fashion.