No, they're not from the Isle of Man, they're from Chapel Hill, in North Carolina, and they purvey a majestic, wind-blown brand of American alt.rock that seduces as slowly and surely as the incoming tide. It's unusual to see school mates getting together and not being noisy, but singer-guitarists Kenneth Stephenson and Bill Taylor are the leaders of a quiet conspiracy to bring calm and craft into the uncouth arena of US rock. Bassist and keyboard player Scott Myers and drummer Ryan Richardson make up this measured quartet; together, they paint watercolours of sound, using their instruments to dab gentle brush strokes onto the sonic palette.
On a day when fevered brows badly needed to be soothed, The Kingsbury Manx arrived at Temple Bar Music Centre, plugged in their Strats and Telecasters and proceeded to lightly brush the strings, coaxing subtle, unhurried tunes from a silent corner of the soul.
It all seems very Mogwai or Dirty Three - a twiddle here, an improv there - except that songs such as Pageant Square, Cross Your Eyes and Let You Down are too pristine, pretty and precisely written.
Quiet may be the new loud, but sometimes it can get repetitive, and there were long, languid passages when it seemed as though The Kingsbury Manx were treading shallow water. But there were enough moments of inspired lyricism and instinctive playing to keep the audience rapt right to the encore.
The final tune was called Piss Diary, but its invocation of autumn leaves and sunshine made it sound more like a meandering country stream, and it was easy to row merrily along.
