The Reading band Pete & the Pirates, widely tipped in the Ones To Watch lists this year, received plenty of plaudits in March for their debut album, Little Death, but somehow stalled at their big breakthrough. Indie overspill was partly to blame - the Pirates can veer towards generic, jangly rock, and after an 18-month deluge of British boys with guitars, radio was desperate to get girls on its playlists.

An after-midnight set at a packed Koko showed up the band's strengths and at least one glaring weakness. The latter was a lack of energy on stage. Four guitarists lined up at the front - a pair of them called Pete - offered plenty of scope for playful interaction. Instead, they all looked lost in their own little worlds, shoulders hunched, heads bent, staring intently at their guitars. Had they made mournful music, it might not have mattered, but as their songs bounced along and they didn't, even fans at the front in pirate hats or waving home-made flags looked deflated.

But Pete & the Pirates have the upper hand on their indie peers in their technical proficiency and multilayered song structures. Bright Lights, the set opener, was part garage rock, part Mersey pop and while the harmony vocals added an edge, it was the guitars, almost at odds with each other, Pavement-style, that stole the song. Indeed, there were times when the vocals of the singer Tom Sanders were an unwelcome interruption. Cold Black Kitty brilliantly mixed nods to Joy Division with the retro sound of The La's, but was spoilt by weedy singing.

In red shoes that matched his guitar - the only flash of colour on stage - Sanders proved a frustrating frontman. He had the epic delivery of Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol on the anthemic Knots and added boyish charm to the fuzzy, scuzzy This Time, but he sang the sunny Josie as if he was trying to appeal to tweenies.

That said, it must be hard to adapt to songs that sound like Hamburg-era Beatles one moment and Kaiser Chiefs at their most cheerful the next. In the latter category fell the forthcoming single Mr Understanding, a hook-laden track with lots of da-da-da-das that is surely their last shot at fulfilling their early hype. If it isn't a hit, Pete & the Pirates shouldn't worry. A classic album is still on the cards; it just might be the next one.

Pete & the Pirates tour from Nov 12

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