The Cribs, Portsmouth Pyramids

YOU know how those Leeds tykes the Kaiser Chiefs were predicting riots?

Well, down the road in Wakefield, the Cribs were starting those riots - certainly if Ryan Jarman's table flattening antics at 2005's NME Awards are anything to go by.

The Jarman brothers - twins Gary and Ryan, and drummer Ross - have seen a rise in profile and notoriety since then, while remaining resolutely underground.

"If you're after commercial indie, you might as well leave now," warns Ryan two songs in.

Nice try Ryan, but while the Cribs' songs may be lined with Semtex and razor blades, their nuclear hooks are not aimed at number 173 in the charts.

Live, the Cribs become an even more accessible proposition, producing real funk - a tribute, perhaps, to the involvement of Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos on the latest album.

And sugarbomb tunes like Mirror Kissers and Men's Needs should really have been rioting with the Kaisers at the upper end of the charts.

"We leave a lot to be desired; I never want to be desired," mooches Gary on new track Girls Like Mystery.

The Cribs, then: happy to remain dogged outsiders.

Just a warning though, lads - carry on like this and one of those nasty top 10 hits might be round the corner.