Having for once miraculously arrived at a gig on time, I'm rewarded with my first experience of Attack! Attack!. I have no idea what's happened in South Wales lately but the calibre of bands peddling their wares is astonishing.  Attack! Attack! have got quality written all over them, and pretty early on in their set it's apparent they've got the songs, confidence and attitude to go a long, long way. 

Their occasionally hard-edged, post-rock, melodic hardcore hybrid is both refreshing and uplifting, Neil Starr's vocals perfectly complimenting Ryan Day and his own guitars. Rhythm section Will Davies and Mike Griffiths ain't too shabby either. Their thoroughly entertaining set is rounded off by new single 'Not Afraid' which should open quite few doors for them, and judging by the crowd's reaction, they've probably picked up a couple of hundred new fans as well.

Next up were Set Your Goals and, I've got to be honest, my heart sank when I saw them on the bill. When I caught up with them about 18 months ago they were terrible, so my expectations were not high, but fair play tonight was like watching a different band. Probably being on the right bill in front of the right crowd did the trick (the previous occasion they were sandwiched between Gallows and Fucked Up and stuck out like a pork pie at a bar mitzvah) as tonight they get the crowd going pretty quickly and have a great energy about them. All of a sudden their party-core seems just right, and a few decent mini-pits seem to reinforce the point. A very pleasant surprise which set things up nicely for......

A bit of a subdued Alkaline Trio to be honest, well at least to begin with. 

Kicking off with 'Private Eye' everything gets off to a flyer, Matt Skiba grinning like a cheshire cat, and all seems well. Maybe it was me, but the next half hour seemed to meander by, with little between song banter and the band seeming a little low key. Then out comes 'Snake Oil Tanker' and the mood lightens and things pick up. 'Sadie' takes the set to another level and by the time 'This Addiction' is dusted off the band are absolutely flying. They finish up the set proper with 'Stupid Kid' and '97' and the world's a better place altogether. Encore time sees the entire band swap instruments, Matt taking up the drum stool, Dan Adriano taking up the guitar and drummer Derek Grant, strapping on the bass. They first roll out 'Fine' with Dan singing before Derek takes over vocal duties for the Misfits' 'Skulls', which is great fun.  Everyone then assumes their usual positions as 'Radio' bids us goodnight and farewell. 

All in all this was a top gig in the end, despite the shaky start.