Eagulls, Electrowerkz, London

As Leeds natives Eagulls arrive on stage this evening, raincoat-wearing frontman George Mitchell has already gone through a large portion of his quickly disappearing bottle of red wine.

The opening chords of ‘Nerve Endings’ kick in, and Mitchell sways with a Liam Gallagher like demeanour. Although, minus a short rendition of ‘Lord of the Dance’, there’s almost none of the Mancunian’s cocky between song patter tonight.

Bottle of red now gone, the bands early punk ethos remains evidently strong, as bodies sway, drinks are thrown and the dedicated moshpit down front encircle for another aggressive stint to standout ‘Tough Luck’.

The projected visuals maybe be flicking on and off, but rhythmically, the four piece are zestful and furiously paced, wasting no time to race through songs as if propelled on by the Electrowerkz’ post-industrial interior.

But yet, as the set progresses, it’s clear to all that Mitchell’s vocals are too low in the mix, which fails to give many of the tracks the extra visceral bite that is so apparent on their soaring debut album.

As the band launch into final number ‘Possessed’, you can’t help but feel that Eagulls are teetering on the verge of something special. Yet here, that something extra is frustratingly missing. Perhaps it will come in time, but for now we head for the exit door feeling a little underwhelmed.