So with another year comes another NME tour. Four more bands hand-picked to provide that winning blend of the anticipated, the essential and the eccentric. Mumm-Ra
But how openers Mumm-Ra fit with the formula is a mystery. Their set is devoid of the vitality seen on previous tours. Their brand of airy synth-tickled rock is far too timid, and the lisped tones of pasty vocalist James New fade too easily into the background. They're pleasant enough and vaguely enjoyable, but still horribly bland – a well-mannered band next-door type. The Horrors Saucer-eyed Southenders The Horrors, on the other hand, certainly wouldn't make such desirable neighbours.
 | | The Horrors |
They belt out strobe-drenched shriek-saturated slabs of convulsing garage rock. But it's not just their sound which demands attention - they’re a strange sight too, daubed in Neo-Transylvanian black and white pinstripe. It's like the loudest silent movie you could imagine. The spasmodic screams of Sheena Is A Parasite are delivered with pulsing intensity, while old favourite A Train Roars sounds more gripping and gloomy than ever. Their monochrome manner is dazzling, and their noise-rock is infectious. The mongrel offspring of Joy Division and The Addams Family, they’re going to be big – and very loud. The View With every new year, comes an arbitrary 'next big thing' – and this year the baton has been handed to The View. The floppy-fringed quartet are predicted to rupture the indie scene. They're the darlings of The Culture Show’s Lauren Laverne – and if tonight's performance is anything to go by, she's welcome to them. Like a docile Arctic Monkeys, their music is a predictable urban narrative of hangovers and heartbreaks, all set to a bleak Dundee backdrop. As far as the 'next big thing' title goes, it seems The View were lucky. They were in the right place at the right time – which is more than can be said for their audience tonight. Their set is dreary and tedious, and every song is horribly formulaic. Their tick-box song-writing tactics may churn out plenty of radio-filler, but they don't work so well at gigs. As they leave the stage, mawkish guitarist Kyle Falconer lets his instrument ring out – the distorted crackling sounds rather foretellingly like the sound of a band fizzing out. The Automatic Fading out is something headliners The Automatic will never do – these restless rockers do everything with a bang. This is the third time the wired Welshmen have played Norwich, and it gets better every time. From the deranged disco of Recover, to the chanting frenzy of Monster, The Automatic are truly a gig-goer's band. "See you next year Norwich," says vocalist Robin Hawkins as they exit stage. They're more than welcome back – and unlike some of their tour mates, they can be sure they'll still be around next year. The NME Awards Indie Rock Tour pulled into Norwich on Thursday, 8 February, 2007. | 
