Super Hyper Giant, Whelan's, Dublin

The year’s first snow has arrived just in time for the launch of Super Hyper Giant’s debut album, Retro/Futuristic. The band have developed a unique brand of alternative pop in the vein of Everything Everything and Alt-J. The album features many contributors including former Smashing Pumpkin Nicole Fiorentino.

The six piece band that main man Jonathan Savino has assembled to bring this labour of love to the stage play with the confidence of a seasoned crew. They seem comfortable on stage and banter with the audience and each other. Most of them play more than one instrument throughout the set and three backing vocalists provide a solid foundation over which Savino is given licence to swoop and soar. Savino himself is in his pyjamas and dressing gown for National Pyjama Day. He has been entertaining preschoolers for Irish Autism Action and implores the audience to donate.

They open with ‘The Universe’ which sets the standard for the set, changing tone and tempo frequently. Such variations are the band’s hallmark, both within songs and from one to the next. Super Hyper Giant’s live show is delivered according to the rules of ‘Just A Minute’ with no repetition, hesitation, or deviation. The next tune swings from early Snow Patrol to some double bass drum action on the outro.

We get an alternative version of the recent single, ‘Always’. The songs have been adapted from the studio versions for live performance. Super Hyper Giant was born in the studio as a solo effort but grew into something more complex. The live show is the reigning in of ideas that expanded in the studio. It is more conventional than the record but still inventive and effecting.

A grungy rock 'n' soul version of ‘Sally Seems’ has some very Whitesnake lead guitar while ‘Fantastic Voyage’ blends late period Beatles with Hall And Oates, and throws in a melodic guitar solo for good measure. There is no lull or dip in quality through the set. Super Hyper Giant are consistently entertaining and involving while being effortlessly entertaining.

The sound is as questionable as ever in the Whelan's upstairs annex and it takes some manoeuvring to find a sweet spot where the mix is listenable and the vocals aren’t ear-splitting but Super Hyper Giant have no trouble overcoming the venue’s shortcomings. Having only the one album to draw from, the set is inevitably quite short but the quality of the songwriting and the assuredness of the delivery mean that it comes across like the festival setlist of an established act with three or four albums under their belts. Definitely one to keep an eye on.