Someone wise once said that nothing dates as quickly as yesterday's futurism, and Ladytron are proof that this may be true. This was a frustrating and unlovely gig. But, in Ladytron's defence, it was marred by a thunderous, smeared and incoherent sound.

Perhaps this venue was just not suited to Ladytron's pummelling electronic pop, or something got dropped in the mixing desk. The Liverpudlian four piece do some subtle and possibly (it was hard to tell) interesting things with their array of keyboards, electronic kit, samplers and live instruments, but it was all mainly lost in a cacophonous sound mix which rendered their tunes monochromatic, and sadly, boring. But there was more than just the sound mix - echoing, horribly bass-heavy - awry here.

Ladytron, who have been around since the late 1990s, do have the capability to write memorable songs, and a few of them hit home tonight. Seventeen is still their best song, in its dead-eyed, heavy-limbed way, and it got the large but oddly unmoving crowd going.

Their new single, from their upcoming and fourth album, Velocifero, is called Ghosts but it is hardly spectral: it has great galumphing Glitter-band drums and a slinky tune. Destroy Everything You Touch, in its Lush-meets-New Order way is pretty good, too. But after an hour of the same tempo, the same octave-spanning cliched bass lines, the same breathy/fake robotic vocalising from Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo - who looked uncomfortable all night - the limited palate of their sonic array became crushing. Which was a shame, as Ladytron are attractive as an idea, and often on record. It's just that on this night, the reality left something to be desired.