He may unironically describe himself as a purveyor of "astral rock and roll", but tonight at least, the stars don't quite seem to be aligning for Jonathan "Pop" Levi. Despite being the headline act, he is, for reasons unexplained, required to take the stage at 8.30pm, a time more readily associated with property shows on the telly than rock'n'roll, astral or otherwise.

In addition, the sound is shocking: it turns everything his band plays into deafening sludge. You could argue that this adds a certain saturated intensity to their more experimental moments, such as the explosive, one-chord drone of Sugar Assault Me Now. Unfortunately, it does for anything that relies on subtlety and nuance, including 2005's single Blue Honey, a witty, elegant blend of blaxploitation funk and glam-rock riffing. Levi's voice, an appealingly idiosyncratic Marc Bolan-ish bleat on record, struggles for space amid the din.

But Levi would appear to be nothing if not a trouper. Possibly as a result of his years as a sideman playing bass with Ladytron, he shamelessly hogs the spotlight, and the adverse conditions seem only to spur him on. The stage is tiny and the audience sparse, but he works both as if headlining a vast arena. No guitar solo is allowed to pass without him deploying a startling array of gurns. When the band lock into a lengthy monotonal groove, he fixes the audience with a highly disconcerting stare. During the encore, he abandons his guitar and begins dancing in an exaggerated, jerky manner. The fact that he gets an encore at all proves how successfully he has diverted attention from the early hour and the sonic shortcomings: no mean feat.

· At Manchester Academy, tomorrow. Box office: 0161-275 2930