Despite tonight’s show being headlined by Oxford indie-popsters, Alphabet Backwards, it’s actually being put on by Spring Offensive to promote the US release of their 2010 album Pull Us Apart, on Burning Buildings, the label to which Canadian singer songwriter – and second of the three acts tonight – Daniel G Harmann is signed.

It’s only the second acoustic set Spring Offensive have played as a full five-piece. The first, singer Lucas Whitworth tells us, was in Brighton, and went awfully, no doubt down to the fact that they provided somewhat of an anticlimactic contrast by playing straight after an energetic rock band, which is why they’ve structured tonight starting with their acoustic performance.

Despite the unconventional format, it’s a characteristically harmonious set from Spring Offensive; the crowd remains silent and enthralled throughout, as they play a mixture of old favourites – ‘I Found Myself Smiling’ being particularly well received – and newer songs, including recent single ‘A Stutter and a Start’, and the beautifully melancholic ‘Bail Out’. Lucas makes more than one reference to the awkwardness of playing such a stripped down set in such an intimate venue, yet this doesn’t affect their performance, a fittingly brilliant gig from – in my opinion – pretty much the best songwriters in the Oxford music scene right now.

Next up, Daniel G Harmann, a singer/songwriter, or, to be more precise, the principal singer and songwriter in the band Daniel G Harmann & The Trouble Starts. Tonight, however, he’s playing solo. With a plethora of singer/songwriters out there – indeed, it seems anyone who can pick up a guitar and string three chords together while mumbling some lyrics begs the right to the title – it’s arguably a harder task to stand out from the masses than it is for those musicians in a full band format. And, maybe… The Trouble Starts are great, but as a solo artist Harmann just isn’t that noticeable; there’s not enough to the songs he plays to warrant praise. At times it’s possible to draw allusions to Elliott Smith, but the comparison ends with the vocals, as lyrically his songs are rather uninspired. The crowd seem to take a similar stance to mine, as their silence during the previous set has been replaced by loud chatter and laughter throughout. I don’t want to condemn Harmann as a bad musician – indeed there is enough potential evident in what he’s playing to make me want to check out his band’s music – but as a solo artist, he doesn’t match the calibre of the other artists performing tonight.

Alphabet Backwards can always be relied upon to deliver a feel-good set, and tonight prove no exception. The whole band seems to possess boundless energy, managing to put as much effort into dancing around the stage as they do into playing their respective instruments. They open with a rousing rendition of ‘Plastic’, from the recent ‘White Russian’ EP, continuing into the jaunty ‘Rubix Cube’. Between songs vocalists James Hitchman and Steph Ward entertain the crowd with an onstage rapport that is both amusing and inclusive. After a particular highlight in the tongue-in-cheek ‘Primark’, they attempt to finish the set with synth-heavy single, ‘Elton John’, but the crowd demand their return to the stage for an encore of fan favourite ‘Polar Bears’, which is sung back by what seems like every single member of the audience. Perhaps my favourite thing about Alphabet Backwards is the obvious enjoyment they get out of performing. Of late, many bands seem so concerned with looking cool and nonchalant, and often come across as pretentious, arrogant, or just downright bored. It’s refreshing and infectious to see a band having so much fun on stage.