Everything Is Brilliant In Leeds. At least that's what it says on the t-shirt of the bloke standing next to me.

And looking around the room, a fair share of London's A&R contingent seem to agree, as they've descended en masse upon the city where Harvey Nicholls rubs shoulders with Hovis loaves and Tetley bitter.

In the basement of the Hi-Fi Club the first Friday of the month brings the Tea Time Shuffle, an event which throws together the city's most prestigious unsigned artists. And the aforementioned cheque book toting talent spotters, of course.

Having seemingly been stuck on the precipice of greatness for some time, Nikoli could be forgiven for thinking good fortune just isn't on their side. Taking the early evening slot while most people are sat at home waiting for Top Of The Pops is soul destroying enough, while the fact that events in Asia over the festive period force them to leave out the poignant 'Always' due to its' unfortunately prophetic lyrical content would be enough to make most people call it a day and head for the sack.

Fortunately, Nikoli have an abundance of charisma and more tunes than a Wurlitzer 2510, and when Tim Hann delivers the epic 'Sandstone' or 'Take It And Go''s plaintive whisper with the bashful exuberance of a certain Steven Patrick someone or other, any elements of doubt surrounding Nikoli's impending rise to the haughty heights of fame are immediately extinguished.

Samsa on the other hand are a slightly more bewildering beast. A three-headed colossus of power and poise that seems just as happy punking things up like Crackout and Symposium did back in the day ('Sweet Disease') as they are performing mini-cinematic operas a la Matt Bellamy and co.('Animals'). Looking quite dapper in their Topman suits and skinny ties, Samsa resemble G4's slightly more rebellious siblings. Having perfected their look the only thing left to do is decide which direction they're heading. If they make the right choice then who knows where the road may take them?

Sadly, The Breech don't quite match the high standards set by their predecessors. Coming on like the token quirky act on the bill complete with David Batty lookalike guitarist Davoc Bradley, their supposed love of all things Super Furry and Zeppelin didn't transcend itself too well, and at times it felt like the Toploader appreciation society had landed.

So many good things have been uttered about Duels that one has that sinking feeling that the phrase "after the lord mayor's show" could be more than just five famous last words.

Thankfully, their discopoprockscifi extravaganza doesn't disappoint.

Having cut their teeth in the previous guise of sammyUSA, Duels have emerged stronger and with a batallion of songs good enough to kick steel doors down while blindfolded. The instinctive powerpop of 'Pressure On You' and verse-chorus-verse to-die-for that is 'Silver And Gold' both give the Kaiser Chiefs a run for their money in the sense that this is music to jump around, hug your friends or even hug the nearest stranger and make a new friend to.

And what's more, in frontman Jon Fuller they have an all-singing and dancing beanpole of elegant good looks and exquisite moves who could soon find himself ranked alongside both Jarvis Cocker and David Bowie in the nation's psyche. As their signature tune 'The Young Believers' draws to a close, Duels needn't have anything to worry about as everyone in the room is converted almost immediately.

Now its up to them to go and spread the word far and wide.

Photographs courtesy of Daniel McCartney