At the Commodore Ballroom on Sunday, May 10

If you have not yet heard Ireland’s biggest new export, Kodaline, then you soon will. No, Kodaline is not the latest brand of antidepressant, although the band’s stadium-ready anthems, showcased at Sunday’s sold-out show at the Commodore, have been known to lift moods or cause slight nausea, depending on your constitution.

Kodaline is an emerging group of Celtic pop-rockers whose chart-topping hits across the pond have garnered praise from everyone from the ordinary masses to One Direction princeling Harry Styles, who reportedly wrote a song with the band that has yet to be released. But with or without a high-profile collab, Kodaline is already well on its way to achieving X Factor–level stardom.

Within moments of frontman Steve Garrigan strolling on-stage, it became clear how his boy-band image, all chiselled jaw and blond coif, coupled with his undeniable vocal talent, has helped catapult the group to numero uno status. Illuminated by a forest of LED bars flashing blue, green, and red, like those dripping-icicle Christmas lights, the band launched into rousing foot-stomper “Ready”.

The audience, chock full of dewy-eyed youngsters who fit the normcore label to a T, never missed a beat in cheering along to every tune. The shrieks from the fangirls and fanboys were equally eager, although the trophy for most enthusiastic goes to the burly dude who slurred and bellowed along to every word with unbridled rapture. After the harmonica-driven “Love Like This”, he sighed, “That song always gives me goose bumps.”

Kodaline adheres to a particular brand of emotional radio rock. It’s the kind of nonthreatening band you can bring home to Mama, and whose mandolin-strumming, ivory-tickling frontman says things like “Don’t be shy, sing along even if you don’t know the words,” while giving the crowd an unironic thumbs-up.

After the golden nostalgia of “Way Back When”, Garrigan declared, “We’ve been friends since we were eight years old.” Their bond is tangible on-stage, in their natural chemistry and airtight musicianship. With occasional good-natured smiles, the foursome put breathless, vein-popping passion into every note.

Guitarist Mark Prendergast wielded his six-string humbly and languidly, with a deft flourish here or there seeming effortless. Bassist Jason Boland and drummer Vinny May had an almost spiritual connection with their instruments, never once faltering in their percolating rhythms and stalwart sincerity.

The churchlike vibes on-stage even translated to the audience, as fans shut their eyes and lifted outstretched hands in shameless adoration toward Garrigan, his gold rosary winking in the limelight as he belted out the wedding song “The One”.

The Nicholas Sparks–level schmaltz of lyrics like “You make my heart feel like it’s summer” did not seem to bother those in attendance. Meanwhile, tracks from Kodaline’s latest record, Coming Up for Air, packed more of a beat-driven, stadium-rock punch, emboldening Prendergast’s guitar licks to become meatier and much more dynamic.

Joined for the finale, “All I Want”, by opener Gavin James, whom Garrigan introduced as “the most Irish-looking person I’ve ever met”, the band huddled around May’s lit-up drum kit like a family around a glowing hearth before closing the night with their biggest hit to date. The folk-pop heartbreaker, from the film The Fault in Our Stars, brought several fans to mascara-streaked tears and prompted one duo to swing-dance in the middle of the pit.

The clean-cut quartet could easily prove a flash in the pan—as were the similarly styled Keane, Snow Patrol, and the Fray. Or it could find a magic path to longevity, as did soft-rock torchbearers Coldplay—whom Kodaline owes a hell of a lot to. It’s too early to tell. That said, these lads can definitely play.