Gig review: Pete Yorn

THOSE familiar with Gruff Rhys of Welsh indie outfit Super Furry Animals might have marvelled at New Jersey singer-songwriter Pete Yorn's similarity to him, all checked shirt, tousled hair and five o'clock (in the morning) shadow. Superficially their music also appears to have fallen from the same metaphorical tree, with Yorn's wistful, elegiac country-rock sharing the same tone as much of Rhys' recent output.

The comparison doesn't go on for ever, though, and while the Welshman is an inquisitive and challenging musician, Yorn seems content to slip within the groove of a tried and tested genre. He and his band are playing for an audience who have already been converted, and their show was upbeat and charming. At its high points it was hard not to join in with the sense of affection flowing his way, for example on his most popular song, the swooning, heartfelt country-rock of For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is).

Operating in such an overpopulated sphere, though, means that where Yorn doesn't stand out he sounds middle-of-the-road. After a promising start, including the bittersweet relationship-ender Country, Relator (joking boos met the news that Yorn's vocal partner on it, Scarlett Johansson, couldn't be here) and the agreeably noisy I Feel Good Again, there was a fallow spell leading up to the rally at set's end, typified by the lame heavy rock of Always. A set to enjoy warmly, but not one to completely lose your heart to.