Late of the Pier @ Òran Mór, 8 Feb

Despite attempts by a certain publication to convince otherwise, Late of the Pier have never been a comfortable fit for nu-rave 2.0 - too awkward, too unusual, too interesting. Not that their unpredictability has stopped them fostering a rabid teenage fanbase that fills Òran Mór (on a school night no less!) and proceeds to dance/jump/take-photos-of-each-other-dancing-and-jumping all the way from bar one til bar's closed (not that most of the crowd are old enough to be partaking). It would be tough to avoid the odd dance spasm to such propulsive beats, but it’s the moments that leave the parameters of dance-rock far behind that truly impress, including riffs that owe more to stoner rock than pill-popping trance (presumably the council add metal to the water in their hometown, legendary rock locale Donnington) and tempo changes that temporarily wrong-foot dancing feet. Combining unbridled dynamism with innate eccentricity, Late of the Pier are baffling but brilliant. [Chris Buckle]