Marnie Stern / Sky Larkin, Broadcast, 2 June

For a support slot on a Sunday night, Leeds quartet Sky Larkin attract a notably enthusiastic crowd, and a blistering set showcasing material from their up-and-coming third LP illustrates why. Maintaining a restless pace, these songs effortlessly mesh post-rock intricacy with swirling, twin-guitar dynamics. It’ll be familiar enough to fans of Sonic Youth circa Murray Street, but few acts master this approach with such adroitness and assurance.

Marnie Stern is more difficult to place generically: while the New Yorker’s recorded output has traced a gradual development from Lightning Bolt-style frenzied syncopation, to a (slightly) more conventional take on melodic post-hardcore, Stern’s live sound tends to efface such distinctions. The need to perform what are effectively four different tasks — vocals, along with guitar loops, tapping, and rhythm segments — leaves her without much elbow room.

 Nonetheless, whatever is lost in subtlety is matched by Stern’s charisma and energy, and the thundering rhythm section (Nithin Kalvakota on bass, newbie Joe Wong on drums) ensures that the bruising force of Stern’s records is retained; inevitable highlights include classics like Transformer, but the rapturous spirit of recent single Year of the Glad provides evidence that Stern is still at the peak of her powers.