Contrary to what most people believe, being committed to Christianity doesn't necessarily put the kibosh on a band's ability to come up with a decent rock tune, as shown by Athlete's 2005 hit Wires. It certainly makes for dull rock stars, though. In refusing to make the customary deal with the devil, singer and all-round nice guy Joel Pott has missed out on the sprinkling of stardust that makes other frontmen watchable. He's epic-pop's Mr Pleasant, and, in the close confines of the ICA, it really showed.

As they stoke up for the release of Beyond the Neighbourhood, follow-up to the chart-topping album Tourist, Athlete are at the stage where major success is in sight. Last week they played three sold-out London gigs before this show, so if they don't end up in the winners' enclosure with Keane and Snow Patrol, there's just no understanding the British public.

Previewed here, the new songs Hurricane and The Outsiders both sounded like future contenders for the top five. And if the band didn't tiptoe outside the familiar boundaries, nobody minded. When they were in full orchestral flow, steering the oldies Half Light and You Got the Style to their crashing conclusions, it was easy to imagine constellations of camera-phones greeting them in the arenas Athlete are destined to play.

The only obstacle is Pott's scrupulous niceness. This was his response to a fan's desperate request that he do something saucy: "I'll leave that to Johnny Borrell." That's the wrong attitude. The man needs to get his freak on - or at least realise that nobody will listen if he's not just a little larger than life.