At its best, The Libertines’ music could be explosive. In comparison, Pete Doherty’s and Carl Barat’s initial post-split songs were largely damp squibs destined to be overshadowed by their erstwhile partnership.

However, Babyshambles’ autumn comeback suggested Doherty hadn’t entirely lost his way. Perhaps it spurred on Barat, who led a confident and combustible Dirty Pretty Things performance including half a dozen new songs.

Their second album, Romance at Short Notice, is released on 30 June and this set showed a move away from the obvious ramshackle rock of their debut.

Barat’s influences haven’t changed too much, though, judging by the opening post-punk clatter of Buzzards and Crows. There were also shades of The Kinks on the new single Tired of England, a supremely tuneful effort with lyrics about the “Queen of England” and “bingo cards”.

Bassist Didz Hammond and guitarist Anthony Rossomando joined in on vocals throughout and the friendly jostling on stage during another new song, Chinese Dogs, gave the impression of a close-knit gang.

The crowd responded noisily, especially during old favourites such as Deadwood, and Barat had to dodge an excitable fan’s white trainer whose flight narrowly missed his head.

Dirty Pretty Things’ debut album was a top three success but, crucially, at the Astoria they sounded like themselves rather than merely an alternative Libertines. The combination of growling, sweaty rock and cooing harmonies on Hippy Son was compelling, while Plastic Hearts had a simple, singalong chorus worthy of Chas & Dave.

Of course, Dirty Pretty Things are still a noisy indie-rock band, so the appearance of a keyboard in the encore was about as experimental as it got.

Nevertheless, this was a convincing return with an emphatic finale: Barat diving into the crowd during a frantic, raucous version of their signature anthem Bang Bang You’re Dead.