Common sense is not a trait prized in pop. Nor, despite an abundance of Scots in the charts, is a strong, Celtic twang. Amy MacDonald has both, which will probably prevent her ever being hip, but hasn’t hurt sales – her debut album, This is the Life, is set to enter the Top Three on Sunday.

The 19-year-old Glaswegian has more than jaunty vocals. A summer spent with a Travis album at the age of 12 prompted her to take up guitar and its influence extends to songs stuffed with bright melodies. The subjects she covers betray her age – the sweet slowie Footballer’s Wife, she told a strangely sedate Sugarmill crowd, was inspired by Big Brother, while The Road to Home was dedicated to her childhood dog – but her sharp lyrics take a mature tone.

Too mature, perhaps, for fellow teenagers – much of the crowd had at least a decade on MacDonald. Poison Prince, her debut single that documents Pete Doherty’s decline – “He’s a load of rubbish now,” snapped the singer, formerly a fan – boasts an anti-drug message that any parent would be proud of. She lamented the rise of the talent-free celebrity – “Kids used to look up to Frank Sinatra,” she sighed. “Now they have Jade Goody.” MacDonald, however, has songs to appeal to other age groups – perky pop such as the recent Top Ten hit Mr Rock’n’Roll that could snag pre-teenagers, a couple of Katie Meluaesque ballads and plenty of punchy, KT Tunstall-style numbers. What she lacks yet is stage presence. In a dreary outfit of black jeans and baggy grey T-shirt, she played with a polite raucousness that failed to engage. When she briefly dismissed her three-piece band, she looked lonely, rather than in command. Even a cover of the Killers’ Mr Brightside couldn’t persuade fans to join in.

A little less level-headedness and MacDonald might be more fun. She has talent in spades and you wouldn’t bet against that accent going down a storm in the States.

— Tour continues: Roadhouse, Manchester, Tues; Fibbers, York, Weds; Belladrum Festival, Aug 10; The Tunnels, Aberdeen, Aug 14; Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Aug 15; King Tuts, Glasgow, Aug 16

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