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Noah And The Whale have taken a long time to get to where they are now. The surprise success of 5 Years Time all the way back in 2007 had them tipped for big things, until frontman Charlie Fink split up with his girlfriend, and decided that their second album, The First Days Of Spring, should reflect this by being a bleak, sombre affair released to critical acclaim but miniscule sales. It wasn't until this year's Last Night On Earth that people remembered they existed and finally took notice. This potted history is important for two reasons: Firstly, the girlfriend Fink split with was former band member Laura Marling, who is playing her own gig on the other side of town tonight. Secondly, the eclecticism of their back catalogue could either make or break their gig tonight.

Support act Being There struggle valiantly, but seem painfully aware that the audience simply aren't interested. The tunes may well be perfectly good, but by the time they've left the stage it's fair to bet that not a single person remembers one of them. Noah And The Whale, on the other hand, are greeted with a frankly alarming level of eagerness, and so it's brave of them to open with Give A Little Love, a song from their first album that while very good, is not one of their best known. It's well received by a crowd glad just to finally have the band on stage, but when their second song follows in similar fashion, you begin to worry that it will be a Lou Reed style set in which no songs that anybody recognises will be played. Which might be why the crowd sings along so forcefully and ecstatically when, three songs in, they finally pull out the unashamedly anthemic Life Is Life. From there on in there's a surprisingly satisfying mix of songs from each of their albums, ending with the one-two punch of 5 Years Time and L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N, even if one audience member can be heard exclaiming loudly that he didn't realise the two songs were by the same band. But on the whole, the eclecticism that could have gone either way tips in their favour, with the whimsical folk of their debut, the more reflective orchestral sound of The First Days Of Spring and the electro-pop of Last Night On Earth sitting together surprisingly well. It keeps the gig feeling fresh, and stops it descending into the tedious predictability of Mumford & Sons. If there is a problem, it's that despite being the songs that actually sound best tonight, the material from First Days Of Sprig receives the most lukewarm responses, with much of the audience applauding politely despite clearly wondering what's going on. It's a shame, because that albums title track provides a brilliantly sweeping finale to their encore that passes straight over the heads of some audience members.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise is that Noah And The Whale no longer feel like an up and coming band. Their tight performance, and some stage moves that Charlie Fink seems to have stolen from the more restrained end of Jarvis Cocker's repertoire mean that they look less like indie upstarts, and more like consummate pop stars.