Norwich was invaded by an Irish, American and New Zealand contingent, as the NME Awards Tour rolled into the UEA.

Norwich was invaded last night by an Irish, American and New Zealand contingent, as the NME Awards Tour rolled into the UEA.

First up, The Thrills. An Irish version of Neil Young. Much like U2 and a lot of the UK, they seem to have adopted the US. The Thrills are as smooth as Guinness and sunny like California, all at 33rpm.

Interpol formed in New York, so share their heritage with The Strokes. Unfortunately they formed 20 years too late, sounding derivative of the post-punk explosion.

No matter how many reviews you read of The Polyphonic Spree, no one can get past the fact there are about 25 of them wearing nothing but white robes and carrying harps. Like The Thrills they have been influenced by The Beach Boys, but it is like having Brian Wilson, his brothers, mother, great aunts and family pets on stage… maybe they should be re-christened Pet Sounds. They appear to be in a psychedelic cult worshipping Sgt Pepper.

Criticisms have been levelled at headliners The Datsuns that they merely reproduce the 'hair rock' of the 70s – such as Thin Lizzy and Aerosmith, but they are worth it. Like the other shampoo-dodgers on this tour, they all rocked.