Opening the BBC Introducing stage at the behest of BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Tom Robinson, Brighton and Cambridgeshire five-piece Straw Bear are gradually building a following with second album Black Bank.

Their live sound has expanded from their original four-piece line-up, with bassist and guitarist Catie Wicks added as a permanent member for the latest album, and the band welcoming a violin player to add extra texture and depth to songs such as the opening Kitty for this set.

As a lyricist, former Argus writer Ian Ray ignores the traditional pop songwriting worlds of love and loss. Instead he favours the leftfield, such as the mythological Land Witch, a paen to his furry Brighton neighbour Urban Fox, and his consideration of the age-old question, “If you were a dog, which one would you be?” in Cocker Pug.

The closest his songs come to a traditional love format is the nightmare wedding at the heart of next single Snobbery, undoubtedly a highlight of the band’s Great Escape set and a song which could see interest grow in Straw Bear.

The band’s confidence seemed to go up a level when Ray ditched his acoustic guitar in favour of an electric, allowing all three guitarists to add subtle textures to the songs and rock out on the closing State Of The Nation.