Caught Live: Sky Larkin + Dutch Uncles @ Night & Day, Manchester

Sky Larkin have rolled into town with local boys Dutch Uncles in tow, meaning a good chunk of tonight’s crowd is here primarily for the support act – never a bad thing in our experience. This five-piece has been doing the indie rounds of late, and having toured with The Futureheads back in the spring and signed to Memphis Industries very recently, their confidence has clearly grown accordingly. Tonight the band give us a more-than-decent half-hour set, with forthcoming single ‘Fragrant’ providing the best entry-point to their jerky idiosyncrasies. DU’s stock in trade appears to be edgy stop/start rhythms, with many songs speeding up and slowing down (seemingly) at random. Frontman Duncan Wallis shows off some flamboyant dance moves to wow the crowd, and although beset by technical problems at one point, the band plough on regardless through what proves an engrossing performance. Keep an eye on these Uncles – the signs are they’ve got a lot to offer.

Sky Larkin are definitely pleased to see us: “We played here once in 2007, and about ten people turned up. So thanks for not being ten people!” cries Katie Harkin to what’s a far more sizeable crowd three years on. With good reason too: sophomore album Kaleide has picked up more than a few favourable reviews, and tonight the Leeds trio reward us with a fifty-minute set that’s packed full of new and old stuff alike. Old favourites ‘Matador’, ‘Fossil, I’ and ‘Antibodies’ all sound excellent, but you can tell the band are enjoying themselves most when giving the newer material some air. Harkin’s vocals are as strong as usual, album-opening lead single ‘Still Windmills’ sounds even better in the flesh, and even numbers like ‘Anjelica Houston’ that have a slightly staid, below-par feeling on record come alive onstage.

Harkin ably keeps the crowd buttered up with some choice between-song banter; her admission that asking Dutch Uncles to tour with them “was like asking someone out…” amuses all in attendance, before she bemuses her (all-male) bandmates by giggling “luckily they said yes, so we’re the happiest girls alive!”. Back to the music, and The Larkin continue to keep things fresh, with ‘Somersault’ (keyboard-toting dancefloor gem), ‘Spooktacular’ (heavy, heavy guitars) and ‘Tiny Heist’ (downtempo newie) all showcasing different dimensions to the band’s blistering sound.

A minor gripe would be that tonight’s set doesn’t push past the hour-mark, leaving no time for the likes of ‘ATM’, a definite high-point on Kaleide, and fan favourite ‘One Of Two’ – this despite the best (and loudest) efforts of those in the front few rows. As ‘Beeline’ brings the night to a close, that’s precisely what we all make towards the exits – happy, sweaty, but maybe wanting just a little bit more. Luckily we won’t have to wait too long to get exactly that: Sky Larkin will be back in Manchester next month to play this year’s In The City Festival. On this evidence you’d be a fool to miss them.