Clean Cut Kid top DIY Presents Community bill with all-smiles set

Something’s in the water for Clean Cut Kid. The Liverpool four-piece trade in wide-eyed optimism, and not a single speck of unrelenting happiness can be faked. Bright colours line their threads, and every member’s prone to the odd air punch or mini leap. Not least bassist Saul Godman, who looks like he’s spotted his best mate in a crowd every thirty seconds, constantly smirking. At first, their dose of vitality is off-putting, like stumbling into a clique and not understanding their in-jokes. But by the end of their DIY Presents Community showcase, it is genuinely impossible not to join the cult.

The three other bands on tonight’s bill trade in their own hypnotic pull. Not least synth addicts Miamigo. The Brighton group’s take on escapism still needs work to truly launch into the stratosphere, but they’re not far off. Recent single ‘What I Want’ demands attention, and though notably gloomier than tonight’s headliners, it’s a giant in waiting.

At times, Clean Cut Kid claim to be toning it down, settling down the mood. Mike Halls likes to suggest as much, but by the end of a more sombre song, he’ll be wheeling out shameless guitar solos, bright lights backing his every move. It’d be over-simplifying things to say these four are happy-go-lucky nutters with too much energy for their own good. ‘Runaway’ is a balancing act of emotions, and ‘Jean’ takes time to step into its stride. But that doesn’t make set closer ‘Vitamin C’ any less of a shock to the system. It’s fun, cutesy, bound to leave cynics drowning in negativity, but these four possess a spirit that’s hard to match, and it’ll put them in good stead for 2016.