The Cooper Temple Clause

To say tonight is a big night for The Cooper Temple Clause would be correct, but missing the point somewhat. Tonight is a huge night for Team Cooper, as they return to the town where they cut their teeth. Despite leaving as a six-piece, tonight they number just five. Inevitably, they look older, warier after the reshuffle brought on by having lost bassist Didz Hammond almost overnight to Carl Barat's new Libertines tribute act, and as if this alone is not enough to contend with, they must follow thundering performances from local act The Race and DiS's own Metric.

As it happens, they needn't have worried. As if Didz only ever played some bit-part in the Cooper's Big Picture, the band now share bass duties (notably, Kieran Mahon is tempted out from behind the keyboards) and instruments are juggled frequently. Old favourites 'Promises, Promises' and 'Blind Pilots' are unaltered, as hardhitting as ever while unflappable frontman Ben Gautrey yells in his inimitable, gutteral way, the veins on his neck standing out as he strains for each high note in 'Been Training Dogs'. This is a band with more than just a little confidence in what they do. Perhaps they have even become a stronger unit in the face of recent difficulties. Certainly there are no signs of nerves, even when technical issues halt proceedings; as Dan has trouble with his guitar and technicians flock to his aid, Kieran starts a chord progression and Ben begins an impromptu, singalong jazz rendition of 'Who Needs Enemies?'. Coopers: 1, Gremlins: 0.

There are a lot of new songs to be aired - typical, for such a comeback event - yet anyone in attendance trying to get an idea of what to expect from the forthcoming, third album Make This Your Own will leave here tonight with a lot to think about. The Coopers may have gone away as dance-tinged rock kids, but they return as broader songwriters, sharing vocal duties as Tom and Dan take the majority of the lead vocal parts, with influences ranging from smooth electronica to hard rock. Comparable to Interpol, Easyworld and Suede on one hand and Depeche Mode and The Postal Service on the other, the new material effortlessly welds together indie, rock, dance and electronica. New, limited-edition single 'Damage' sounds like the Soulwax remix of a Gary Numan version of 'You Can't Fool Me Dennis', twenty-two years too late to be performed in the Young Ones' kitchen.

It's hard to gauge exactly how these new songs will sound on record - a couple of them sound like typical 1990s, 'Trash'-era indie - yet for now, they are completely eclipsed on two occasions. A few songs into the set, 'Film Maker' ignites the waiting audience; a full-throttle, uncontrollable tale of frustrated jealousy amid media references, distorted, fuzzy guitars and Ben's trademark sneer, with its unstoppably rambunctious nature topped only by set-closing first single 'Panzer Attack', which creates a whirlwind pit of flailing-limbed boys and girls. There may have been no 'Let's Kill Music', and the recently completed album may well raise a few eyebrows, but tonight the Coopers have made an important step on the road to recovery. Perhaps Mr Hammond chose the wrong road.