One city’s history has cast a shadow over every band it produces — and that's Liverpool. Ever since the Fab Four, it feels like every Liverpudlian band must come complete with jangly guitars, psychedelic edges and a scholarly approach to the writing of big pop choruses. The Las, the Lightning Seeds, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Coral, all fit into this bracket. And now so do the Vaccines.

A recent signing to hot record label Marshall Teller, they’re sure to be all over critics’ lists of acts tipped for big things in 2011. It’s easy to see why too: the Vaccines make solid indie rock with hooks and choruses that are as instantaneous as the best Merseyside has spawned. They are, though, much more energetic in their compositions and live shows than most of Liverpool’s recent exports. They borrow much from the Beatles’ early work and have the look and feel of a classic bar band. Infusing the guttural guitars of the Clash and Stooges with a layer of fuzz lifted straight from the Jesus and Mary Chain, making tracks like Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra), the kind of tune eager film directors will want to splice pub fights over the top of.

That’s not to say that the band are neanderthal, though; there’s an eloquence to much of their music, with singer Slim Fluenza (probably not his real name . . .) proving throughout their half-hour set at the Jericho that he can be as pithy as the best of them. Ultimately, the Vaccines work best on tracks like Blow It Up. Short, jagged rock ‘n’ roll songs that rush by in a flash. Raucous and energetic, the Vaccines will do well in 2011.