These are puzzling times for NME, which is still capable of breaking new bands but is struggling with falling circulation.
Despite this circulation fall, people still have interest in what it has to say and what it has to put on. While it takes a while to fill, its a sell-out crowd in the Brixton Academy tonight, assembled to watch 3 new bands and one not so new band.
Traditionally, the opening slots have been a breeding ground for bands that have reached big status. The likes of The Vaccines, Florence and the Machine, Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and Coldplay have all gone from opening the tour to winding up with top 10 records, arena tours and the like.
Playing in the slot with the ghosts of the big names are a four-piece from Liverpool who, in the words of their frontman, have grown quite a bit from not existing this time last year.
Kicking-off proceedings were Circa Waves, who are an impressively calibrated group. With a set formed of very pleasantly heavy but poppy tunes, there is something decent stuff going on here. Some reviewers have compared it to vintage-Strokes, although there is the odd wiff of a Foo Fighters riff lurking around here as well.
Drummer Sian Plummer is particularly impressive, with some superbly crafted percussive links throughout a continuously high-tempo set.
Following them on are Brighton two-piece Royal Blood, who have grown in reputation since Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders wore one of their t-shirts at Glastonbury last summer.
Like the first act, there's a pleasant heaviness here, but its amplified significantly. The impressively channeled use of Michael Kerr's bass guitar to perform heavy guitar riff is a fantastically brutal mood that dictates the track. Combining with some battering drum parts and some huge choruses, its certainly a winning combination - not least for a crowd beginning to fill up and get rowdy.
It also provokes some of the evening's first mass singalongs, with new single Little Monster and the brute force of earlier tune Out of the Black inspiring the crowd to join in on vocals and engage in some spirited moshing.
Third on is a band already heralded as one of the best new acts of 2014. Temples have been widely cited as the best (or only) band to ever come from the Northamptonshire town of Kettering, while the likes of Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr are fans.
With a top 10 debut album and such famous followers, one would be expecting big things. But one would not be counting on their slot getting off to a flat start. The band seemed overawed by their surroundings, and the opening song goes by quickly in an anonymous blur.
The show does improve the further down the setlist the band go. Early single Keep in the Dark is an intriguing stumbly feel to the band's psychedelic outlook, as is the title track from debut record Sun Structures. By no means is a bad performance provided - and one that deserved more credit than the odd "That was shit" uttered by crowd members - but by the same token, it feels quiet and almost sonically overawed in comparison to the two bands that preceded them.
Headlining the evening, in a curious trick, are a band who were show openers way back in 2003. Interpol were largely seen as failing to top 2004's Antics, with the following two albums charting higher but lacking the tunes to make a lasting impression.
Rather than return with their own tiny venue shows, the New York four piece have opted to return to the public consciousness by taking up residency on NME's jaunt. Its an unusual process for the magazine, given the headline act is usually an act breaking through, like recent headliners Django Django and Two Door Cinema Club.
But the moment they stride on, they look and feel confident to own the space. After all, they have previously headlined concerts at the famous rock venue five times. They open confidently with the rush of debut album single Say Hello to the Angels, but its following song Evil - from Antics, no less - that gets the crowd really rocking into high gear.
The song is introduced by a prominent bass riff, but that song is one of the few occasions that touring bassist Brad Truax's instrument can be audible over the hubbub of his bandmates on the stage.
Nevertheless, there is plenty power to the Interpol tracks. Following the opening duo is the melancholic delights of C'mere, while the likes of The Heinrich Manuever, Narc and Not Even Jail are expert reminders of the band's classic back catalogue.
There are also three new songs dotted around. Each provides an interesting update on the vintage Interpol sound, with My Desire adding a funkier strut, and All The Rage Back Home sounding impressively jangly, even despite its bizarre and seemingly unnecessary restart.
The main set concludes with the faster PDA and Slow Hands, much to the delight of a boisterous and rowdy front few rows. But of course, its not the end, with the band returning for a three song encore that concludes abruptly with the doomy Obstacle 1.
The band are well orchestrated as ever, with Paul Banks' stern baritone and the bandy-legged Daniel Kessler's serrated guitar adding expertly crafted guile to fulfill a very impressive 90-odd minute set.
Its the conclusion to a good evening's entertainment, and certainly proves that despite the NME's perceived failings a a magazine, the brand name is certainly well-allied to some excellent concerts bringing to the fore some good new acts, and some old friends.
4/5
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