Admiral Fallow have landed a rather good indie-pop double bill to kick them off this evening. West coast duo Over the Wall are first on, and as a result don’t have a huge audience amassed to watch them (especially considering this is a sell-out gig). They make up for it though, powering through some excellent Postal Service-inflected guitar pop as guitarist/singer Gav Prentice dances about the stage.

Kid Canaveral too are bursting with energy, rattling through their set with cheeky between-song plugs for their album, and managing to squeeze in a cover of King Creosote’s ‘Missionary’ while they’re at it. Again, it’s well-crafted, infectious pop music, and not over-quick in its pacing – although we do learn that they’re racing off to Cellardyke afterwards to play another gig the same night.

Headliners Admiral Fallow choose a different tactic, starting off slow with a view to building up the energy gradually – a tactic which unfortunately backfires slightly. The flowing folk musicianship coupled with frontman Louis Abbot’s endearing openness are as compelling as ever, but even the more upbeat numbers such as ‘The Paper Trench’ (their forthcoming single) fail to elicit more than a few appreciatively nodding heads in the audience.

Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Sun 14 Aug.

Admiral Fallow The Paper Trench SXSW Showcase Maggie Mae's 16 March 2011