These are odd times, band wise. Evidence would suggest that the format is dead in commercial terms success, a glass ceiling standing in the way of converting critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base into genuine stardom. It leaves us with an increasingly overcrowded middle ground that recalls the days of post-Brit pop indie landfill and a seemingly never ending line of new bands waiting their turn, a belief in the power of bass, drums and guitar undimmed. Every now and then though one manages to edge past the pack, not with great fanfare but with a quiet forward motion.

For now it seems to be Wunderhorse’s turn, on a steady rise since last year’s second album Midas, culminating in a summer of high profile festival dates and a genuine old school number one single in the UK. The crowd for the first of two sold out Dublin nights is the biggest demonstration of youthful exuberance we’ve come across since SZA last year, with a sense that the odd more mature interloper could be stopped by a twenty-year-old at any moment and asked to name five songs to prove their credentials.

In truth, it’s not so hard to see why they attract those of an older vintage – aside from the discovery that bassist Seb Byford is the son of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal stalwarts Saxon’s singer Biff. There’s nothing particularly radical about Wunderhorse (a spot of Radiohead here, some Interpol there, a healthy dose of grunge) and the first half ticks along pleasantly enough but offering little insight into what all the fuss might be about. For recent reports of intense onstage incidents (one dryly reported on SetlistFM as “Jacob smashes his guitar on the drum kit then kicks over part of it”) tonight is on an even keel, lacking the chaotic charisma of support band Shame but with better tunes. It’s hardly the stuff of a youth movement though.

Hang on in there however and a degree of magic is revealed, kicked off by the low key but anthemic ‘Arizona’ and the tumbling ‘Purple’. Encouragingly the pick of the bunch is the most recent track and the one that took them to the top of the charts, ‘The Rope’. Again it’s nothing new but you can’t deny that there’s something there, something spine-tingling in terms of the song and Jacob Slater’s delivery. Man, he means it. They don’t quite match those heights again, although the double encore does come close – not least on the mass nerve striking of ‘Teal’.

If we haven’t borne witness to the future of rock ‘n’ roll, we have noted a band who – barricades breached – won’t be retreating any time soon. Inspired by that belief in the classic way of doing things they might be, but they could soon find themselves equally restricted by it. As luck would have it, Wunderhorse have made a connection with an audience who can grow with them – looking to the future rather than yearning for the past. It could be an interesting ride.