Jon Fratelli

One wonders why, in seeking to carve out a solo career independent of his previous musical endeavours, Jon Fratelli chose to continue labouring under his assumed name. Whether it's an attempt to use his prior success as a launch pad or not is a moot point; the fact is that no-one came to Electric Circus tonight on the strength of John Lawler's solo work.

In an attempt to set the tone for the evening – and perhaps distance himself from The Fratellis – the frontman leads with a new track in the form of 'I'm Not The King of Rock'n'Roll'. It's a strong start, all three chords of it, but not a distinctive one; new faces aside, tonight's set could easily pass for a Fratellis show, and that doesn't bode well for his chances as a solo artist.

Fratelli is, at least, a reasonably compelling live performer; strutting like a young Bruce Springsteen, his charisma is unmistakeable, but at times his rock'n'roll swagger feels wasted on a relatively tame audience. The unfortunate truth is that tonight's audience only really gets going when the Fratellis standards are wheeled out: 'Baby Fratelli' and 'Cuntry Boys and City Girls' both get a warm reception, and 'Chelsea Dagger' arrives with tiresome predictability in the encore, but for the most part Fratelli's new material is treated as an indulgence.

The crucial flaw here is that Fratelli gives the impression of being too dependent on his back-catalogue, and his sense of ownership over this material is a disservice to his erstwhile bandmates. What's needed now is for him to chart a new course, away from what came before, lest every solo show prove as tepid as tonight's.