YOU can't blame Noel Gallagher for the prevailing obsession with retro - John Power is just as guilty of purveying classic, Sixties style pop replete with vague, almost vacuous lyrics, and at the Red Box last night he led his Cast of rockers through a set of old songs and old sounding new songs.

Cast have a distinct ad vantage over other plunderers of the past - they can create a cohesive, organic style with every riff they recycle, so their best songs don't come on like rotting rehashes. But they also have a handicap - they're so in thrall to the minute details of a bygone style that sometimes they don't realise when they're just being boring.

As I stepped into this microcosm of British psychedelic pop, Cast were just finishing the first song of their set - Mirror Me, I think, from their new album, Mother Nature Calls - and the crowd looked well up for a bit of a trip down Penny Lane.

Another new song, On The Run, reassured everybody that Cast weren't about to reverse direction into the future, and swirling riff of Sandstorm flurry of familiarity. Promised Land kept the home fires burning, while the sparkling riff of Guiding Star provided a beacon towards the dark depths of rock history.

No better man than Power to lead us back in time, and Walkaway took us by the hand and brought us stumbling through ballad terrain, while Fine Time reminded us just how highly Power regards the Sixties.

Flying, however, brought us right down to earth with a dull thump, underlining the inherent problem with Cast - they might be able to take us back, but they still can't take us higher.