Someone who isn’t me described their website and their music thusly: “The text is a ripoff of Godspeed, the name’s a ripoff of Add N to (X), the names for the pages are a ripoff of Mogwai and the music sounds like screaming yobbo football hooligan skinhead violence mixed with Simple Minds. I like.”

Simple Bloody Minds! I guess they do have the pomprock element to their music. To bring it sliiightly more up-to-date, you could say, and we shall, ‘Mirrors and Cameras’ is like how Mansun would sound if they used a cello instead of dodgy old Juno synths, with the added bonus of Pixies quiet/loud dynamics BUT again played on cello instead of wails of screaming guitar feedback. Second song, ‘In Japan’, reminds me of The Frames more upbeat moments. AND, more importantly, (X)>(Y) have the icy cool self-belief and the spunkrock element that reminds me of why I fell in love with Supergrass in the first place and how the same is happening again. Only not with Supergrass this time. With (X)>(Y). Obviously.

(X)>(Y) are the best band that you’ve never heard of… unless you live in their home city of Birmingham or are somehow related to them or SOMETHING. The Dublin Castle is only half-full tonight (it’s only their second London gig) but this time next year methinks they’ll be playing verrry different venues indeed. If you are of the young and impressionable age, they’re going to change your life - so you might as well start scribbling their name on your pencil case now.

Now I have a favourite band called Six By Seven, an Add N To (X) t-shirt, and another favourite band called (X)>(Y). And you know what? I fucking HATED maths at school.