Trying to break through in the new wave scene that has been resurrected of late must be a real pain. The Dykeenies’ debut album is a shining example of this.

If Nothing Means Everything had appeared on our shelves two years ago, then they would be seen as pioneers in their own field. Not only showing different strings to their bow (almost literally) with single Stitches, but paving the way for other acts such as The Automatic and Boy Kill Boy to follow would’ve been seen as nothing short of inspiring.

Unfortunately, it’s landed in 2007, meaning that not only have the said acts already made waves in the scene (and are gearing up to do so again), but other bands like The Killers have redefined the sound, making it fit for arenas and stadiums – even if it takes a while to realise it.

This does the band a huge injustice though to make them sound like complete cast-offs, as it’s not true. In all honesty, they’ve stuck a tantalising balance between rock and indie, blending in elements of both The Futureheads and The Young Knives into opening song The Panic – only when the full band starts up, it’s twice as loud.

There’s more to follow on Waiting For Go, which also harks the sounds of fellow countrymen The Cinematics, as well as Panic! At The Disco with a stop/start beat layered over Brian Henderson’s vocals as he exclaims that his heart “Was a stage you’ll never play again.”

It’s all very theatrical, and it’s something that is seen in Things You Cannot See, which provides a sound that could be a darker, brooding version of Bloc Party but with a tired sounding drumbeat. Symptoms also mimics another British artist, but in the form of Editors’ guitar work instead.

Coupled with Stitches, there are some real highlights that can get us all excited about the future. Clean Up Your Eyes shows the possibility of incredible guitar sounds in the future as for the briefest of moments it’s possible to hear distinct U2, whilst Pick You Up can’t fail to win in the indie nightclubs with its trance backing and head cracking beat. It crushes anything by the dreadful Hello:Goodbye without breaking sweat.

In And Out shows great potential for their live shows, and New Ideas shows just that for the group as they embark in some well thought call-and-response side taking, although the lyrics aren’t their finest hour here.

The same can be said for Feels Like Sleep, as the line of “Lying in your arms/It’s only your heart that matters” feels a little contrived. The rock-out finale shows mass appeal, but it all feels a little confused and ham fisted. With a little more thought, it could’ve stopped traffic.

What really matters here on their debut album though is the potential. There’s a huge amount sloshing around here in the form of different guises and genres. With the right nurturing, The Dykeenies could soon be tearing a new hole in the musical map.