Biffy Clyro

Tonight was hyped up as the hottest showcase of the best new(ish) music from the UK at the moment. Opening such a night was the daunting task put upon 3-piece emo outfit Drive Like You Stole It. Despite being hampered by a muddier-than-Manchester sound set-up, their fervour and endeavour did shine through. Here, Mel Young’s raw, angsty vocals soar through post-hardcore anguishes one after another. Flying through several tracks from their acclaimed mini-album _Frequency _as well as a smattering of new tracks, it is no doubt that the band will have widened their fan base here tonight.

Next down the gauntlet are Manchester’s own esoteric post-rockers, Oceansize. With their debut album Effloresce, they hinted at some prog-metal masterpieces but now they’ve gone further. Much further. At a show you always could close your eyes and physically breathe in their music but now you feel it burning. It burns only the way Metal can. Over the past two years Oceansize have certainly been trimming the fat off most of their songs in order to get a reasonable amount into each live set and here they play nearly ten songs in their half hour. They lever in all their hit singles as well as most of the new extended player. This is a surprise from a band who once played four songs in the same time. Conclusion: Oceansize have grown less self-indulgent. Conclusion: Oceansize know how to write good songs. Conclusion: Oceansize are getting better. This is a good thing.

As popular as *Biffy Clyro *are, there was an overwhelming feeling that Oceansize hadn’t just taken the biscuit, but the whole goddamned tin. However, as soon as they bring their Diet Foo Fighters to this stage, they are adored. It is because they are really very, very good at what they are doing right now. It is remarkably difficult to ignore a band that is quite as good as this. Swerving from the heart-wrenchingly gentle, all the way back round to the heart-stoppingly powerful, Biffy Clyro still rock like a spring tide. New material sounds as angular and intricate as anything you might imagine them to do with the same dynamics and intrigue as ever. There is no stopping them now.