Interpol @ Carling Academy
It's easy to feel like you're alone in the venue with just the band and the hairs on the back of your neck
Success and credibility often make uneasy bedfellows yet, somehow, Interpol - contrary to the title of latest single There's No I in Threesome - seem to be quite comfortably bunked up with both. As well dressed and charismatic as ever, the New Yorkers continue to bask in the air of inescapable cool surrounding them. Tonight their music shimmers as much as it propels and the new material betrays the same sense of unapologetic romanticism that made their previous work so affecting. Though opener Pioneer to the Falls is arguably the highlight, the tempo of the set undulates perfectly throughout, rising with the likes of Obstacle No.1 and gently slowing again during Pace is the Trick and the inspired NYC. On more than one occasion - despite the surrounding capacity audience - it's easy to feel like you're alone in the venue with just the band and the hairs on the back of your neck. [Chris Cusack]