The first thing you notice is that they are not dressed as pirates but in typical indie gear. Frontman Tom Sanders may have a skull on his T-shirt and tattoos on his arms, but the rest sport misshapen tops and unexciting jeans, while the bassist and guitarist wear glasses. To confirm the quintessentially indie nature of this highly touted Reading five-piece, Steve Lamacq is among the rammed throng. Indeed, with their ramshackle rhythms, droning guitar and unison singing, they are so suited to Lamacq's show, they could almost be the house band.

It is this singing style - not counterpoint harmonies, but voices in tandem - that stands out at first; that and the drums, which gallop frantically in the manner of all indie bands since Orange Juice, whose Blue Boy played on the PA before the gig. They are also influenced by the Velvet Underground's drone-rock, but with them, it is NYC via NZ: they are fans of acts on the Kiwi Flying Nun label, such as the Clean, and you can hear it in the joyously simple, linear clatter of Come On Feet.

Of course, artful minimalism can pall. It is all very well restating the primacy of one-chord garageland thrash, but Cold Black Kitty and the single Mr Understanding are Quo-ishly banal. The instrumental break, though, is thrilling in its repetitious relentlessness.

A highlight is the cuttingly quick Knife, where the band are a trebly mess of furiously strummed guitars (three) and bashed cymbals. The encore, Saviour, is hypno-boogie of the highest order, complete with super-fast handclaps. So their best two songs are their shortest and most succinctly melodic, and their longest and most monotone. Go figure.

· At Korova, Liverpool, tomorrow. Box office: 0151-709 7097. Then touring.