Newcastle indie rock trio The Pale White tear up London’s Scala on the penultimate stop of their tour.

With their debut album Infinite Pleasure out in the world, it was only time that the band themselves step out on the road as well. Having supported the likes of The Libertines and Sam Fender in the past, they’re no strangers to the big stage, although tonight it’s a modest one in King’s Cross. The anticipation, however, is palpable as people trickle in and the room slowly fills out.

For a second it feels like they’ve set out to play the album in its entirety, as title track Infinite Pleasure sets the scene for night, followed by the uncompromising Glue and Take Your Time. The order is broken up by fast-paced new single Never Enough, an almost leftover track from their album’s recording session, although it would have been a brilliant addition to the album. The band play every song as though it were their last, with the fervour of that final track at the end of a 75-minute set. But the songs keep coming.

Despite the variety that kept their album from being a monotonous hammering, there’s a certain cohesion in the tracks. Old singles Polaroid and Swim For Your Life find themselves blending in perfectly amongst the jam-heavy Sonder and Nothing Lasts Forever, while three new songs even get airtime, most memorably the somewhat romantic We Could Be Something. Frontman Adam Hope eases us into the encore solo and lit only by the crowd’s phone lights with …Still No Taste, a chaser to its predecessor Medicine. A melancholic Anechoic Chamber Blues follows on with the respite in momentum before we are back to their infectiously pulsating riffs in That Dress.

The big surprise would have to be seeing an acoustic guitar – an instrument so alien to tonight’s show – during Frank Sinatra, being brandished by Lewis from Picture the Scene, who had earlier that night taken that very stage themselves. By this point the only thing keeping drummer Jack Hope in his seat is the obligation to maintain the percussion with tight precision. But the second he is liberated from his duties, he launches himself over his kit and onto the crowd, the cathartic end on a high that most of us can only envy.

Photos: Abigail Shii