Gruff Rhys at The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea, review: '˜His audience has remained loyal'

Appearing on stage carrying a placard announcing the new album's title: '˜Babelsberg' and: 'Side 1,' Gruff and his band dutifully play the new tracks in strict sequence as they appear on disc, beginning with the wonderful Frontier Man.

It takes a brave singer to attempt this and something which I must confess have never seen a band do before, but somehow it works and the crowd remain transfixed.

After '˜Side 2' is finished Gruff treats the audience to a selection of solo material including a few tracks from his previous long-player, American Interior, a concept album about Welsh explorer John Evans.

Pronouncing to do away with phoney encores, Gruff brandishes more placards than Joey Ramone could wave a stick at, imploring the crowd to ever-greater levels of applause.

We are finally sent home happy with the sublime If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme) from his 2011 album Hotel Shampoo.