Prior to the gig I was sure I'd be mugged for my ticket, such was the demand to check out this incredible new act. But luckily I escaped attack and found myself in Brighton's coolest underground venue, smugly congratulating myself on having heard them first.

After the release of debut album The Back Room, which finally hit the shops on July 25, word spread fast about this group of gifted young musicians.

Launching immediately into a fast-paced set of soon-to-be classics, lead singer Tom Smith (the ordinary name does the man no justice) demonstrated an Ian Curtis-style psychosis. The raw and edgy performance was punctuated with frequent attempts to stick his guitar to the ceiling, wrap it around the back of his head and to raise the roof, literally, with his own bare hands.

These were not the pretentious showings-off of an NME-hyped wannabe, however, and the mentalist approach was real enough to highlight the contradictory fragility underpinning both music and frontman alike.

What puts The Editors head and shoulders above the rest is the way they've half-inched ideas from a wealth of legendary cult peers, yet created a sound so instantly recognisable as their own.

In debut single Bullets, catchy melodies mix with almost-too-sharp guitar riffs and hypnotising repetition. Top this with frantic yet soothing vocals and clever lyrics and you'd be fooled into thinking this band had started it all themselves many years ago.

So don't let them tell you this is "gloom rock" or be put off by comparisons to their less accessible influence, Joy Division.

This is positively addictive stuff. "People are fragile things, you should know by now," sings Tom on second single Munich, "be careful what you put them through".

In which case, heed your own advice and stop being so damn good before I spontaneously combust, or something.