Review | Fast Trains, Waif and Stray and Conor Clements at The Edge of The Wedge, Southsea: "Classy indie-pop"

However, his solo material is a very different beast. Admittedly I only caught the latter half of his set, but it was very much ’60s/70s-style singer-songwriter folk-leaning material, harmonica and all. He has released several tracks solo and while they may not be to the taste of fans of Hallan, they are worth checking out.

Next up are Waif and Stray. While this four-piece may have its roots in the folk/country world, this is a much more rocking set – top marks to Sam Brawn for his impressive range of “guitar faces” and Caz Batten is a tremendous vocalist. It’s great fun (odd obsession with the Pixar Cars films notwithstanding...).

Its headliner Fast Trains’ second set of the day. The project is the vehicle for Tom Wells’ songwriting, and he had earlier performed a solo acoustic set, also at The Edge. By contrast, the evening is a full band affair. While unable to catch the solo set on this occasion I have seen him play that way before, and the two set ups do allow Wells to highlight the versatility of his songs.

Their first hometown show in some months, this is a chance to debut some new tracks as well as a few firm favourites. In a set packed with new material, they play debut single Measure by Measure and a previous set-closer Sea Change after opening with two new numbers, the vibrant introduction of Welcome to Ourworld and For a Second of Your Smile.

Wells has noticeably grown in confidence as a frontman since Fast Trains began in 2019 – time away on tour has clearly paid dividends – and that he is willing to open the set like this is a measure of that increased confidence.

The influence of his heroes like XTC and Aztec Camera is clear – like them he has a way with an earworm, but is also happy to stray from the beaten track. And with a band like this Wells is given the chance to wander – guitarists Michael Koullas and Chris Peace provide the fireworks and sonic mayhem while Dan Sawyers on bass and synths and drummer Chris Arrowsmith keep them nailed down at the back.

Former single A Thousand Tiny Cuts remains a beautiful piece of work and set closer On Being Poor resonates louder than ever, but those new numbers have potential to become future favourites too.

If you are a fan of classy indie-pop and don’t know Fast Trains already then prepare to enter their world.