Plumpfh. A prolonged, snaky intro. Then the opener on this here demo - ‘Is It My Turn’_ - coughs its way into a scruffy ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ riff sometime after the first chorus. It’s hard not to endorse developments of this kind, albeit that the quiet/loud trick has been around the block a squillion times – it’s probably shagged your sister and your mother in the same phone box at the same time, it’s that overused. Nevermind. In this instance the effect is less crude than it frequently is. Certainly, mewling, angsty whining is most noticeable in the work of Aviata** by its welcome absence.

And indeed, by far the most encouraging aspect of this mature first demo is the restraint it shows. Aviata are a band capable of reining themselves back wherever restraint might be the more powerful option. Nonetheless, they’ve yet to hit upon the most potent way to utilise the brooding formula they’re working with. The dynamics they’re employing are a little too taut, too predictable, and just too darned common to be really exciting.

‘A Move’_ is the finest moment here, but also a case-in-point. It’s a coiled spring of softly pulsating tension, on which the twitchy drumming sound especially great, but when it finally snaps – in the obligatory surge of distortion – it falls short of the satisfying release it should be. Mind you, it doesn’t miss the mark by much.

The closing song, ‘Headwire’_, is piano led and every bit a mistake for it. Just because you have a band member who can play piano doesn't mean he has to go ahead and prove it. In parts it even sounds like David Gray**. Heckfire! Christ in a knitted cardigan! You know the score. Be cool kids, keep pianos out of modern rock. Yeah.

Otherwise, this isn’t a bad first showing. Bang bang. I'm off.