Having blown the fuck out of the Upstage at last year’s Witnness fest, the Cooper Temple Clause return to Irish shores with a legacy to uphold.

The Reading sextet are easing themselves back into the live circuit with a tour opener at Whelan’s, their first onstage jaunt since delving to the depths of studio-land in pursuit of the follow up to their debut album, See This Through And Leave.

Judging by tonight’s performance, it’s clear that the band have been out of the touring loop for quite a while. What was once an endearing cockiness is in danger of turning into a near cringeworthy Zoolanderism (if the faces bassist Didz was pulling are anything to go by). But despite such sluttish posturing, house favourites ‘Let’s Kill Music’ and ‘Panzer Attack’ go down like a groupie.

The new material showcased tonight sees their trademark choppy, abrasive riffs join forces with waves of thick, prickly electro noise to create even more of a cacophonous turbo charged mess than heretofore.

And although it took until the closing numbers for the band to really let loose, there’s no doubt that the Coopers remain one of the finest straight-ahead rock bands around.