DAYS after performing to hundreds of new fans at Indie Week in Canada, rising stars Jordan Allen returned to Southampton.

Frontman Jordan, lead guitarist Danny Quin, bassist Kieran Loughran and drummer Nathan Howard are no strangers to the south, but this set of songs show they have taken things to a new level since they were last here.

New single Naked, which Radio X added to their evening playlist this week, was sung back to the Bolton band with a passion, while previous release Synchronised, a song that Kieran said could be the one to make them famous, sounded huge.

Both tracks’ infectious anthemic beats and honest lyrics resonate here as much as they do anywhere else in the country.

Favourites like Too Much Too Soon, Helter Skelter and the optimistic, but bittersweet 110 Ways To Make Things Better, were greeted with eagerness.

Meanwhile, it is no secret that R.O.S.I.E is already an indie classic. Here is a song could last a lifetime for one of the most exciting unsigned bands in Britain.

Songwriter Jordan said to expect new music in 2019, but their 12 tunes tonight indicate they may not be far from what could be a line up for a first album.

Oddity Road first played alongside Jordan Allen at The Ruby Lounge in Manchester in December 2016 before joining them again to support The Sherlocks in front of 2,000 people at Albert Hall in the same city a few weeks later.

Now, after a summer of festivals and their own headline tour, including The Joiners in September, frontman Jack Heath, lead guitarist Dan Brennan, bassist Joel Gilbourne and drummer Ethan Lambert from Eyam in the Peak District are gaining a following in the south too.

Same As It Ever Was, Don’t Hold Me Down and Handshake were electrifying, while recent single All Again shows why this band has been getting airplay on Radio 1 as well as BBC Introducing shows, including here in the south on Radio Solent.

Jordan Allen and Oddity Road completed a formidable week of new northern music at Heartbreakers that had already seen Doncaster’s The Blinders and SHEAFS from Sheffield headline the same venue in the past seven days.

Tonight, was also a night of surprises for Southampton’s Calum Lintott, who first bought a ticket to watch the gig as a punter, but was called-up at the last minute to open the evening with a solo acoustic set after local favourites Pioneers had to pull out.

The line-up change brought back memories of last year’s Common People festival when the singer performed at short notice on the main stage after rapper Nadia Rose cancelled.

The change of plan meant a live performance of Calum’s new single, Hometown, before his own headline show with his full band and support from Tom Lumley at The Joiners on Friday January 11, 2019. Tickets £6 from joiners.vticket.co.uk.

Jordan Allen’s remaining UK tour dates in November and December:

20 November - Plymouth, Underground

22 November – Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge

30 November – Liverpool, Arts Club

1 December – Sunderland, Independent

2 December – Glasgow, The Garage

3 December – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

4 December – Newcastle, Think Tank

5 December – Leeds, Key Club

Jordan Allen’s new single Naked is out now. More at jordan-allen.com

Richard Derbyshire