It's never a fun job to be tasked with reviewing the first of the year's Next Big Things. If you like it, you come across as sycophantic. Hate it, and you're just a contrary sod deliberately swimming against the tide of popular opinion. To make matters a great deal worse, Manchester's Delphic are..indie dance. Oh dear. The fusion of these two styles can be occasionally sublime, but far more often recalls Republica (rubbish Britpop with woeful loops) or, even worse, Klaxons (rubbish Britpop with car alarms).

Thankfully, it's a pleasure to report that Delphic are rather more successful. Sound wise, as much as it pains me (and them, judging by their quotes) to make such an obvious comparison, Acolyte resembles a tour through New Order's back catalogue, from the stuttering, 'Blue Monday' rhythms of 'Remain' to the Temptation era melodies of 'This Momentary', with occasional tinges of Doves' chiming guitar sound and ability to genre hop convincingly.

The production, courtesy of Ewan Pearson regularly shows a deftness of touch and genuine knowledge of dance dynamics. Nowhere is this more evident than on the title track. A shimmering guitar intro gives way to a pulsing, constantly building piece of euphoria, before departing as quickly as it arrived as the low key guitar returns. This pattern continues, with approximately seven different gears being found in a classic house set display of build and release.

It's not all as successful as this, or the insanely infectious 'Red Lights' though. The actual songwriting is rarely sophisticated ('Counterpoint' and 'Clarion Call' do stray into that dreaded, truly vacuous Klaxons territory), focusing too much on cramming as many choruses in as possible, and James Cook's vocals occasionally stray into Starsailor warbling; nowhere more so than on 'Submission' (even the title screams New Order!).

Acolyte, no matter what sections of the press may claim, will not be one of the best albums of 2010. If it is, it's fair to say that we're not in for a classic year. It probably won't change many people's lives, but its best moments are infinitely better than a 2010 NME approved New Order tribute had any right to be.