FINDING themselves touted by former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire as the next great Manchester band appears to be a burden carried lightly by The Courteeners.

They are not ones to rest on their laurels when it comes to self-promotion and have been generating plenty of interest in national indie circles.

Their spikey-edged melodic pop recalls the many of the fine acts to have graced their native city, from the slick guitar licks of The Smiths' Johnny Marr to a hint of Oasis's raw swagger.

Their frontman Liam is certainly no wallflower and was charmingly described by the Manchester Evening News as having a gob "bigger than Old Trafford".

But do they deserve the hype that's been thrust upon them over the last six months? Well, there's the not insignificant matter of their major label record deal struck with Polydor.

Then there's their implausibly-catchy second single Acyrlic, which just missed out on the top 40 singles chart at the end of last year.

As the band head out on their debut headlining tour of the UK, there's a deserved optimism in their ranks having finished recording a debut album. Especially as it's been produced by none other than Stephen Street who has famously worked his magic touch on The Smiths, Blur and Kaiser Chiefs.

"It's all a bit weird the kind of attention we've been getting," explained bass player Mark Cuppello. "Now we've finished the album we are confident about its sound, especially with Stephen Street who has so many ideas in the studio and all the knowledge from the bands he's worked with.

"We were worried that the label would come in and start dictating which songs should be on the album, but they have not been like that at all," he added with a sense of relief.

The band have a particularly strong bond largely hailing from the same area of Manchester and having known each other since school days.

Liam's smarter than the average indie urchin lyrics of frustration and annoyance with modern life have him marked out as a Victor Meldrew in the making.

Thankfully, much of the music bristles with an energy which carries it to places far more lofty than the dirtier end of the group’s home city. This truly is music that escapes its surroundings.

Mark's modestly explains his own entry into the group, which was formed around the nucleus of their outspoken singer and guitarist Conan.

"I think Liam just wanted his mates to be in the band- he could have chosen from the pick of some very good musicians but he wanted us instead.

"I've only really seriously been playing for the last year and have just had a new Rickenbacker bass flown in from America as you just can't get them anywhere else," revealed the 22 year-old politics graduate.

The band, who are allegedly named after a bizarre childhood incident with a Cortina motor owned by Liam's father were snapped up by their label the week after their laid-back bass-player completed his course. This has made their rapid rise seem all the more sweeter.

He concedes the fact that they are in a location with such a strong musical heritage has aided their cause immeasurably.

"It’s such a great city to get started in as a band- we’ve done about 50 gigs here already. We’ve built up some momentum here and purposefully not gone down to London before to play the kind of pub gigs where about six people turn up! hopefully people know who we are now with the tour coming up."

As any young band knows, hype can often be a double-edged sword and end up being a millstone round people’s necks.

But with a number of influential voices in support of them including Conrad Murray of leading rock promotors SJM, fortune appears to be in their favour. It seems they have plenty of appetite for the upcoming visit to Kent.

"Getting out there on stage is definitely the best thing about being in a band. I love to travel and have been abroad a lot but not seen that much of my own country, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing all the places we play, even if it’s only going to be a few hours in each venue we’re at."

With youthful exuberance and a sack-full of top tunes on their side it won’t be long before the Courteeners are commanding far bigger venues than the Forum.

The Courteeners play the Tunbridge Wells Forum on Saturday, January 26. Tickets £8. Box office 08712 777101.