Opening the NME Tour is no easy task. A half filled Brixton Academy in front of you, waiting to be entertained by bands they may never have heard of before, lusting over the headline act they have waited so patiently to see.

For a band who have yet to release their debut album, The Drums warm Brixton Academy like a slowly roasting summer BBQ with their unique and irresistible sound. Enchanting the crowd with their artfully prim haircuts and youthful exuberance, The Drums are all shirts tucked into skinny jeans with their casually coifed style.

Proving they aren’t just another band who put style over substance, new single ‘Best Friend’ soars The Drums miles above their hype of being 'the-next-big-thing’.

Frontman Jonathan Pierce exudes a comfortable swagger on stage, leaning back into a variety of surfing positions during their most popular track 'Lets Go Surfing' which receives a jubilant rally of claps and sing-along chorus’s from the ever appreciative Brixton Academy. The Drums give more thump when live, displaying the sharp precision of a band who have toured continually. Encouraging further head bopping across the onlooking crowd who gawp when guitarist and tambourine flailing extraordinaire Jacob Graham gives the lighting rig a run for its money with a particularly high throw.

Showing their softer side with closing song ‘Forever And Ever Amen’, the boys sing of lost love and adolescent dreaming. Singing with sweet melancholy “baby it’s forever”, Pierce raise hairs and makes the hearts of girls melt across the venue.

By the end of their set the young London crowd are swaying along to each break down and asking how high when The Drums say jump. The Brixton crowd are not alone in their approval of The Drums pure pop perfection, the band mix good looks, great style and an insatiable sound to create that mixture of reliability and accessibility that so few manage to capture.  Playing the opening slot of any gig is a hard enough task, yet with the hype they have already accumulated, The Drums show now signs of stopping in their crashing wave across the music industry.

7/10

By Robyn Lynch