The Rakes' singer, Alan Donohue, is a hilarious frontman. His lopsided fringe makes him look like Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, circa 1981, only minus the kilt. Then there are his bizarre, compulsive hand movements and convulsions, suggesting Joy Division's Ian Curtis crossed with a traffic policeman. In a moment of inspired theatre, he makes a cow's-horns shape over his head with his hands to illustrate the song We Are All Animals.

Donohue could come over as ridiculous, but his engaging performance brings a touch of entertainment to music that is usually arch, mannered or pretentious. He sings serious songs without taking himself seriously. Lyrically something of an intellectual Victor Meldrew, he yelps out rants about hypocrisy, seediness and the human condition that can stop you in their tracks - not least Suspicious Eyes, which views tube travel from the perspective of an Asian traveller post-7/7.

The band have everything in place, from precise disco drum beats to melodic, angular guitars. However, while a Rakes gig is never without a dull moment, they lack many genuinely top-drawer songs. The rat-race-lampooning 22 Grand Job remains their best, closely matched by the witty The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect. During the Strokes-like Little Superstitions, about a man whose daft beliefs ruin his love life, someone throws a jacket at Donohue, who returns it with the quip, "I haven't taken your jewellery." The man is a natural stand-up comic.

· At Newcastle Academy, tonight. Box office: 0870 7712000. Then touring.