Pete & The Pirates, King's College SU, London

When Pete & the Pirates meander on to the stage at this drab venue, each member of the spiffy Reading five-piece exudes a healthy glow. Lauded by many critics as potential indie-rock darlings of 2008, and with their debut LP, Little Death, having hit the shelves to acclaim in February, they are as yet untainted by the takeaway lifestyle of the first-album tour, and are a model of health and mental togetherness.

Adding to this composure is the performance of the lead singer, Tommy Sanders, which reads like a style book on modern front-manship, from the unlikely Ian Brown swagger with which he opens the set to the mesmeric swaying of an especially blissed-out Chris Martin that accompanies the anthemic encore, "Eyes Like Tar".

Unfortunately, though, these mannerisms are part of an eclecticism that frequently points to an overabundance of influences. At their worst, Pete & the Pirates weave a comfortable, but lightweight, patchwork of over-obvious borrowings. But at its best, this tight performance exceeded the sum of its parts. The Bloc Party-esque album closer, "Bright Lights", is thrown into the set with the pace ratcheted up and careers into new, exciting territory. Frequently, these departures are effected by drummer Jonny Sanders, whose ferocious percussive outbursts anchor the band's expansive guitar sound and provide a rhythmic divergence from the tubthumping of the album, from which nine of tonight's 14 tracks are taken. With a verve absent on Little Death, and banter with the audience kept to a minimum, the band breathe life into songs that seem initially stifled by their musical forebears.

The tight, flawless harmonising of Sanders and the guitarist Peter Hefferan is perhaps the band's most impressive trait and is showcased to best effect on their rendition of "This Thyme", the B-side of their most recent single, "Mr Understanding". Both songs are greeted warmly, as is the raucous "Come on Feet". And while a swathe of the audience faints at the ecstatic simplicity of it all, the rest of us just smile.