Apparently no-one mentioned the embargo on singing drummers to London-based art-punk tykes Fiction – for they have not one, but two. Co-fronted by perpetrators Mike Barrett – who also squeezes in keyboards, the scamp – and James Howard (also guitar), the band ably harnesses the addictively brittle sonancy of prime era Talking Heads onstage tonight. Rounded out by the spare bass thrum of Daniel Djan and some cosmic lead guitar mangling courtesy of Barrett’s brother Nick, Fiction are busy bringing some tropical-tinged cool to a sweaty summer’s evening.

Thundering into action with the tribal blast of ‘Zebra Crossing’, it’s immediately clear that underneath the abstract snaking rhythms lies a brooding pop heart. This fact is nowhere more obvious than on current single ‘Curiosity’, with its Echo & The Bunnymen-like sense of melodic drama and curious wit. Elsewhere, ‘Big Things’ kisses us with the beestung lips of Vampire Weekend, albeit smothered with a more decadent shade of lippy.

That they manage to propel these foreboding impulses on such shuffle-inducing beats makes for an unlikely but agreeable concoction. Theirs is the clamour of an early ’80s underbelly that’s grown tired of being glossed over by one too many current airbrushed indie-pop tarts.