Being hyped up as the latest pretenders to The Strokes’ crown as rock kings of New York is a burden most bands could do without.

Though similar to the Julian Casablancas et al, Skaters are no mere imitation. For a start, none of them are from the Big Apple.

What they do is evoke their adopted city’s history through their sound. Their short repertoire contains enough musical references to cover a 13-year-old’s bedroom. From the Ramones to The Modern Lovers, the influences are apparent but not overpowering.

Live, what is abundantly clear is that these guys are a talented and tight unit. The five-piece’s almost uniform lank hair, torn jeans and beaten trainers conveyed a certain swagger.

The band ripped through their set as if they were permanently under siege from a baying crowd. Skaters were damned if they weren’t going to give it their stage-stumbling all.

The band’s canon is small. Their lauded five-track Schemers EP formed the majority of the set and some of the vagaries produced in the studio were slightly lost in translation to live performance. This meant at times the tracks sounded samey. This isn’t too much of a detraction. Skaters are raw but they don’t lack promise.