Comprising a tubby rhythm section and two indie geeks, Athlete are an unappetising visual feast. Yet, as the trusty cliche has it, looks aren't everything and Dingwalls is packed for a band whose debut album is still several months away. They begin humbly, singer and guitarist Joel Pott muttering, "This is our set" before lurching gently into Westside. It begins in the downbeat, black-and-white manner of the latest Coldplay emulators. Halfway through, however, bassist Carey Willetts cries "Chorus!" and the song explodes into colour and glorious four-part harmonies. It is startling and delightful, as if Athlete were a Brian Wilson tribute band who sound nothing like the Beach Boys.

And so they continue, mixing the naggingly familiar with the curiously exotic. Dungeness echoes Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's We've Got Tonight and Grandaddy at their most intricate. When Willetts's melodica solo on A Few Differences is followed by a punk squall, it seems as logical as a Travis track. Keyboardist Tim Wanstall is so much the gurning mad scientist it is a wonder he doesn't wear a lab coat.

For all their need to experiment, Athlete are determinedly accessible. As with the Lightning Seeds at their most fulfilling, Athlete resemble the best of an eclectic record collection while sounding like nobody else. Even at this early stage, their music is curiously fully formed. The forthcoming single It's Beautiful is a summery anthem with a thrilling instrumental interlude and their best-known song, You Got the Style, embraces hook after hook. Eventually, Pott allows the crowd to sing it for him. It transcends the weakly produced recorded version, emphasising that the quartet are already refining their existing work and recognising their own strengths. Already, the unrecorded songs they unveil are far superior to their slender canon. There is no encore, but only because a vigorously enforced curfew ensures Athlete have run out of time. Soon, they will be able to play for as long as they wish.