There is a band from Liverpool, a city that can do no wrong musically at the moment, called The Stands. You may not have heard of them yet, but trust me you will.

Championed by Noel Gallagher, recently signed to Echo, they have supported The Vines and Jet. Oh, and they don't sound like The Coral.

On the hottest night of the year the coolness of the cellar-bar venue was welcome. By 9.30pm, the Barfly was packed, a sure sign that a band of some note must be about to appear. Clues to The Stands retro intentions, lay in the Gretsch and Rickenbacker guitars, valve amps, harmonica and the drummer's geek-chic beard.

A depressing thing about some new indie/retro bands is that they have a tendency to look ever so slightly nerdy. The drummer fulfilled this criteria, but fortunately not so the rest of the band; the bassist and the vocalist sporting Dylan/Griff SFA straggly curls. At the centre of this backwards glancing vortex and looking (like every girl's dream) frazzled but sweet, is Howie Payne, lead guitar and vocals, who recruited the rest of the band to play his sixties influenced sound.

For the first half of the set I wasn't that moved by the band and I have to confess my heart sank when the acoustic guitar put in an appearance for a couple of the distinctly whimsical nostalgic songs. Things picked up dramatically however, when the band played their very strong catchy debut single, When This River Runs Over You, a pure Dylan/Byrds cheery retro pop song with rough edges and cool west coast harmonies. From then on we were hooked, especially with Here She Comes Again, all soaring melody and youthful vigour with a strong La's (fellow Scallies) influence. Frenzied girls loitered close by, picture messaging the moment to their mates. The band were sounding exciting now and worthy of the hype that has been building up in the music press.

Some of us were eager for more, but heat and lethargy had taken their toll on the crowd and the anticipated encore didn't materialise. Pity. Anyway, The Stands are still pretty good.