大象传媒

Cardigan clad Havana House Party take to the stage in a fairly empty Auntie Annie's. Their drummer however, looks and plays more like a fan of the Foo Fighters than Arctic Monkeys or Bombay Bicycle Club, both of whom they cover. They have an air of rabbits caught in headlights as they start but soon find their mojo and finish their set with 'Monster' to a growing crowd.

Three stools then appear onstage and Clarke from Like Statues starts tuning a guitar. With an air of confusion amongst the crowd, it turns out there has been an unexpected twist to the evening. William, Like Statues' drummer, is "away building spaceships" - or at least learning to at university, so he isn't around tonight. Instead the remaining trio decorate the stage with a more subtle presence than usual. The set is rearranged acoustically demonstrating the sheer musicianship of the group. Their echoing harmonies and emotive lyrics are stripped bare leaving an unsuspecting audience with goose bumps by the end. If they don't have an acoustic album in the works then they really should have.

In contrast Deadlights are loud and lively onstage. Perhaps we're left a little too chilled out after Like Statues, as it takes a while for the audience to really get into their set but (accidental) stage diving mics and between track banter soon have the desired effect. Their mellower tracks like 'Monochrome' or 'Pieces' seem to come more naturally to the band who really want to be angry but just seem far too happy to be onstage to manage it.

By the time Colly Strings arrive, the bar is now full of their - dare I say - baby-faced fans who, with their backcombed hair and hipster outfits look more like the cast of Skins than a typical Auntie Annie's crowd. They play a new song which has no name yet and when they invite the crowd to name it, they're greeted with a boy band worthy "We love Trav" chant from the girls in the audience. Maybe not the best title for a track but Travis seems pretty chuffed, shyly shuffling about in his jeans which aren't so much skinny fit as vacuum packed! Their quirky tunes are full of bouncy riffs and mellow choruses for which it seems impossible not to nod your head to. 'Slight of Hand' wouldn't sound out of place in a film soundtrack and although very new to the Belfast scene, the fact people are singing along to their closing track 'Teddy Robinson' shows that these youngsters are definitely ones to watch out for.

Carrie Davenport