Taking the stage The Walkmen could be best described as smart casual rockers. At first glance none of the New Yorkers had that indefinable quality which makes a rock musician stand out, with most looking like they were off for a meal with the wife.

But when the music started, and frontman Hamilton Leithauser unleashed his unmistakable rasping howl of a voice, how the band looked ceased to be important.

Leithauser’s distinctive tones borrowed from the cream of New York’s musical community, taking in Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Julian Casablancas.

Added to the five-piece’s vintage instrumental swirl the sound produced was unique, whether the band was telling the dustbowl romance of 138th Street or building up to the literally victorious pounding choruses of new album highlight Victory.

The variety and organic tone was a real antidote to the synthesised electronica currently in vogue.

The set was drawn largely from the latest album Lisbon, with opening song Blue As Your Blood underlining the band’s return to the basics, slow burning from a simple guitar line driven by an insistent drum tap into a magnificent crescendo.

Other tracks had been reimagined for the stage, with the beautiful chiming triangle-led accompaniment to While I Shovel The Snow being a particular triumph.

As the mirror ball shone for slow final encore We’ve Been Had, from The Walkmen’s 2002 debut Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, it felt like the audience had been taken on a magnificent journey for the past hour.