The Charlatans

The second gig of the Transmissions series of New Digital Sounds might have been more grounded than the first (Flaming Lips on Tuesday night), but it still packed a considerable rhythmic punch.

The Charlatans came to the fore in the rush to lionise certain bands from Manchester at the turn of the decade.

While Stone Roses are no more than a fond (but still quite effective) memory and Happy Mondays seem content to milk their popularity for all it's worth with a typically haphazard reformation, Tim Burgess and his bunch of louche, loping groove merchants have steadily turned into the group that have lived to tell the tale.

Frankly, it couldn't have happened to a better bunch of people.

Amidst weird noises, funfare lights and a PA system loud enough to rattle the fillings in your teeth, The Charlatans' compelling melange of sounds provides the missing links between The Band and indie rock, Bob Dylan and funk rock, and prime-time Rolling Stones and Britpop.

Old material - North Country Boy, Tellin' Stories - is neatly segued with songs from their forthcoming album, Us & Us Only.

While the harder-edged, somewhat more experimental songs are greeted with perhaps more than a touch of reverence from a partisan audience, it is inevitably the more familiar material that receives the sweaty thumbs-up.

The end result was an accomplished, resolutely sturdy gig that betrayed The Charlatans rootsy influences and very few flaws indeed.

These Cheshire cats - still smiling broadly after all these years.

The Charlatans play the Olympia theatre tonight. Support acts are Beth Orton and Crush. Doors open at 7 pm. To book phone 01-6777744