More about: Interpol

Taking to London’s iconic Somerset House for an open-air spectacle, New York rock authority Interpol are a well-oiled machine as they serve up a balanced diet of timeless classics and newer compositions. It’s a seamless show, but it’s become entirely predictable.

Stopping off at the famously picturesque, Grade I-listed arts complex for the latest instalment in the venue’s outdoor Summer Series, Interpol are accompanied by emerging Yorkshire band The Lounge Society, who, after releasing their debut album last year via Dan Carey’s influential Speedy Wunderground label, could become one of Hebden Bridge’s biggest cultural exports since Happy Valley. With a literal tongue in cheek at times, lead singer Cameron Davey first launches into their tempo-shifting debut single 'Generation Game', a scathing political commentary on the Murdoch press and the state of the States. By the end of the set, he’s sharing a more personal number, a new one in which he laments the four years spent with a “narcissist” ex-lover.

Each member of The Lounge Society brings their A game: Davey shimmies around the stage and even perches on the edge while simultaneously plucking away at his bass, so committed to his showmanship that at one point his sunglasses fly off his face. Meanwhile, drummer Archie Dewis makes full use of the tools at his fingertips, attacking the toms with a noticeable conviction during their breakthrough song 'Cain’s Heresy' With his gruff tones, Davey’s voice starkly contrasts that of Interpol lead singer Paul Banks, and some punters have decided it’s not for them. “They’re a bit shouty,” someone in my vicinity remarks. This might not be the right audience, but they’ve shown glimmers of star quality here.

Next, it’s time for the main event. Introducing themselves with recent number 'Toni' as light refracts from founding member Sam Fogarino’s drum kit like an anemone, Interpol go on to deliver a tried-and-tested sequence of fan favourites, their audience belting out the words to early-noughties anthems like 'Obstacle 1', 'Evil', and 'C’mere' with a passion that’s only grown stronger over time. Placing an emphasis on their greatest hits, the Manhattan indie outfit don’t put a foot wrong in their delivery, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that they’re brushing their latest album The Other Side of Make-Believe under the carpet; despite being in the process of rolling out an accompanying remix album, they’ve reportedly never played four of its tracks live, and tonight the only others we get are 'Fables' and 'Into the Night'.

This seems a little conservative for an LP that’s still less than a year old. Stranger still, their set is almost a carbon copy of their O2 Forum and Przym Kingston shows from this time last year. It feels like a missed opportunity, not least given the fact that they successfully performed Antics in full in Normandy just days earlier in a break from their regular European tour programming. For a show as uniquely configured as this, in a city they describe as their “second home”, it feels a tad inattentive to trot out a routine that loyal fans will have heard so recently; sure, some first-timers might feel entitled to all the classics, but doesn’t holding some of them back present a prime opportunity to sell more tickets?

Make no mistake: at face value, this is a phenomenal show. Banks sounds as great as he ever has. The guitarists among the band nimbly navigate semidemiquaver notes without breaking a sweat or even looking down at their instruments; they could play these songs in the dark if they needed to. They know how to work a crowd, and this is a welcoming environment for their intergenerational fanbase; even those initiating mosh pits during bangers like 'Roland' and 'Slow Hands' remain at all times courteous towards their fellow punters, who are able to ferry four pints at a time into the crowd without spilling a drop. Tonight, casual fans will have gone away feeling like they heard every song they wanted to. But therein lies the problem; everyone loves a ‘best of’ show – they’re a once-in-a-lifetime experience – but touring it in perpetuity does a disservice to some of the excellent songs they’re continuing to write to this day.

See the view from the pit, captured by Daniel Landsburgh:

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More about: Interpol