Packing out the Manchester date of their latest British tour, the Futureheads played with just enough wit and grit to defy the formulaic mannerisms that have come to hobble too many British guitar bands. However fresh it may have sounded three years ago, the revival in angular post-punk minimalism has begun to feel like a stylistic dead end. Groups once touted for their intelligence and innovation, notably Franz Ferdinand, now appear content to repeat a limited bag of cosmetic tricks.

With their short, sharp riffs and jerky rhythms, the Futureheads undoubtedly draw from the same shared well of New Wave influences. Austerely garbed in black and framed by a stage backdrop of geometric blue lights, the Sunderland quartet hardly broke any new ground in Manchester. But they played with gusto and good humour, eventually rousing the collegiate crowd to polite hysteria.

A yelping, spiky Yes/No and a driving, shuddering Area opened the show. Tracks from the band’s 2004 debut album were then scattered sparingly throughout the set, including an early airing for their celebrated deconstruction of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love. Other bands might have saved this crowd-pleasing former hit for the encore, but that would have overemphasised its novelty status over its adventurous, eccentric arrangement.

Songs from the band’s newly released second album, News and Tributes, displayed a clear musical progression, being mostly slower in tempo but richer in melody. Already sounding like embryonic live classics were the airy, gently throbbing Thursday and the wistful Back to the Sea. Likewise their current single Skip to the End, saved for the show’s climax, an attractive fusion of pared-down tribal rhythms and bellowed harmonies.

With just two albums behind them, the Futureheads still lack the stylistic range and reservoir of strong songs needed for a great rock show. There were some flat moments in Manchester, but the band are clearly still pushing in the right direction. Their growing use of a cappella vocals and muscular but spare arrangements called to mind art-rock titans the Pixies more than any tinny post-punkers. Unlike many of their peers, the Sunderland foursome still seem to hold a few more tricks up their skinny black sleeves.

Tonight, Bristol Academy; Thursday, Southampton Guildhall; Friday, Birmingham Academy; June 11, Cardiff Great Hall; June 12, London Forum