Of course, there are reasons for this: the early start time (to accommodate the necessity of having a club night afterwards), the (according to reports floating around) extremely busy gigs happening elsewhere and - that old favourite - the economy, and it all adds up to an empty venue. Thankfully for the morale of the lads, a few other punters arrive during their set of math-pop-rock, and small numbers mean that the on-stage banter can be specifically directed from band-member to audience-member and back.

The riffs and gritted teeth of ‘Better Than Mine’ give way to the poppier ‘I Don’t Want To Runaway’, which could easily be from local luminaries Two Door Cinema Club. Their love of a hook, and curves rather than angles, distances them from most contemporary math-rock, but they share that genre’s love of rhythms (and yelps). With luck those who’ve arrived late will be disappointed for missing out on the whole set. They should be.

Dutch Uncles are a hotly-tipped outfit from Manchester, currently creating a bit of a buzz among the media, and as such this, in theory, could be one of those ‘I was there’ gigs. With piano a key instrument, this group (although the impression is of the band supporting the front-man rather than a complete entity), bring a bit of eccentricity to the stage. Musically there are obvious comparisons with Sparks and Hercules & Love Affair (‘Little Space’ in particular seems very remix friendly), but the quirkiness is always there. Indeed, it’s very ‘Manc’, the jerky movements and eccentricity of front-man Duncan Wallis are an amalgam of the likes of Ian Curtis and Morrissey, while the dance elements recall house music of Chicago, Detroit and New York, with guitars reminiscent of The Strokes. New track ‘Fester’ – “You can make your own jokes about Uncles and Fester” in the words of our charity shop trouser-wearing front-man – is very Hot Chip without being explicitly dance-floor, and ‘Doppleganger’ recalls the euphoria of the late, forgotten Clor.

Thankfully it’s gotten busier from earlier on, but it’s hard to say if there’s something really here or not. Musically there’s a bit of the magpie here, with different ideas being borrowed and put together, but at the minute there aren’t enough of them to sustain the full set.

William Johnston