WHEN a packed house is belting out your songs as if they're classics - and you haven't even released your debut album yet - then you know you're onto a good thing.

Sheffield four-piece Little Man Tate are waiting to explode onto the mainstream and, if they keep their crowds as entertained as they did at Fibbers, it's only a matter of time before they do.

There's a real buzz about Jon Windle and co, captured in the almost celebratory reaction from their loyal fans as soon as they launched into their usual set opener, Man I Hate Your Band.

In fairness, it was a friendly crowd, chanting "Yorkshire" as the band walked on. But there's more to Little Man Tate than just home-field advantage. Their yarns of modern life, house parties, picking up women and boozing a little too hard strike a popular chord, backed up by infective riffs and choruses.

And while they're not quite Oasis pre-stardom, they are anthemic - purposely embracing the "drunken pub sing-a-long" scene. In The Agent, What? What You Got? and House Party At Boothy's shows LMT, as they are affectionately known, are clearly anything but one-hit wonders. Sexy In Latin, Down On Marie and Hello Miss Lovely just emphasise their strength in-depth musically.

Performance is everything, of course, and Little Man Tate leave it all out there. It's a wall of noise that uplifts and it's surely going to bring them huge chart success in 2007.