IT may not feel that way to a struggling band but it is a nice feeling when a great live experience is like your own little secret.

The gloriously named Alpha Male Tea Party are one of the hidden gems of the alternative underground scene.

The Liverpool trio’s angular bouncing riffs and constantly shifting time signatures are not going to be bothering Ed Sheeran anytime soon.

But at their show at Aatma – with only around 50 fans in attendance – there was a sense that Tom Peters, Ben Griffiths and Greg Chapman are on the cusp of something bigger.

The band’s set consisted almost entirely of all new material from their crowdfunded new album, Health, due out next month.

The new tracks were instantly appealing.

Complex and heavy but with a little more diversity than their first two albums.

The songs also had more of a polished edge that will likely make them more accessible.

It is telling that their single from the record, Nobody Had the Heart to Tell Him He Was on Fire, was their first to chart – albeit at the tail-end of the top 100.

The three-piece also made time for live favourites You Eat Houmous, Of Course You Listen To Genesis and Athlete’s Face in what was a hugely energetic – if unappreciated – night for live music.

  • Health is out on June 23 on the UK independent record label Big Scary Monsters