The Voidz @ O2 Ritz, Manchester, 7 Nov

Following their debut album Tyranny in 2014, Julian Casablancas + The Voidz knowingly shortened their name to the point of erasing the frontman altogether, rightfully redistributing the band’s praise and distancing Casablancas himself from the hiatus of 'that other band'. Fast-forward four years and The Voidz remains the primary focus of their lead singer’s musical output. With his five new bandmates, who largely consist of musicians from his earlier Phrazes for the Young solo tour, he maintains carefree artistic freedom under a far more subtle spotlight.

This penultimate night of their recent world tour is sadly short of attendees. The die-hards squeeze together at the front, forming a pit in which to rock out to the heavy riffs and angular synths The Voidz provide, but the mezzanine balcony remains notably off limits, forcing fans to huddle comfortably on the springy dancefloor. Casablancas and friends present themselves on stage fashionably late after a build-up of Twin Peaks-esque atmospheric music which switches – quite strangely – to Dire Straits when the track presumably runs out.

They casually pace through a short setlist of just a dozen tracks, largely from their recent album Virtue, beginning with its laid-back opener Leave It in My Dreams, which is ironically reminiscent of the aforementioned 'other band'. Following the bleak and jagged Crunch Punch, Casablancas stops briefly to show concern for the hearing of a young girl close to the speakers, leading The Voidz to break into a short improvised song complete with vocals in dedication to her.

They return from their unplanned interlude with QYURRYUS (pronounced 'curious'), which trumps Casablancas' fondness of superfluous Z’s when it comes to spelling, while simultaneously providing a stroke of audible genius, complete with siren sounds, Middle Eastern flavours and voice decoder antics.

Pyramid of Bones follows shortly afterwards, which is more typical of The Voidz's experimental rock sound. The guitar of Jeramy 'Beardo' Gritter truly crunches during its chorus, accentuated by Casablancas' signature vocal delivery and underlined with mighty roars into the microphone. Like much of their performance, it provides a welcome display of original and inventive music which occasionally teeters towards becoming overly self-indulgent – but is nevertheless captivating to watch.

The night loses momentum slightly as it draws to a close with Dare I Care, but is steered back on course with its finale – the frantically urgent Black Hole. Casablancas exits the stage as soon as his vocals are complete, leaving his bandmates to finish the job without him. 

They return together for Human Sadness, the lengthy opus from Tyranny, which works surprisingly well as an encore. It builds slowly, introducing melodic sounds before crooning vocals surface and guitars begin to overtake the softer arrangements. From here the song ebbs and flows, showcasing an amalgamation of all The Voidz's unique parts, bringing the sadly short show to a strong conclusion.

'Put money in my hand / And I will do the things you want me to do,' sings Casablancas on the set closer and, with this in mind, while the show’s ticket buyers perhaps expected more bang for their buck, they were by no means short-changed for the goods received.