FOR me at least, 2010 was a dire year for music. I could count the number of albums I bought on one hand.

Thankfully, 2011 has already delivered more than last year did and the bands on this bill are among those leading what will hopefully be a bounce-back year for alternative music.

The NME tour of course already has legendary status and if the four acts on this bill achieve anything like the success of their predecessors – who include Arctic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine, The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs and The Cribs – then they’ll be alright.

And on this evidence, all four of these bands are on for a good year - but whether this billing reflected how well they'll do remains to be seen.

The Vaccines were first up, wasting no time firing through a relentless set of short-but-sweet punky numbers, including the highlight track, Post Break Up Sex. This band's influences are easy to see and they have already been compared to The Ramones.

Literally music to the ears of a guitar-starved indie lover.

Then Everything Everything proved that the electro-indie phenomenon of 2010 still has plenty of legs, raising the roof with stand out tracks My Kz, Ur Bf and Photoshop Handsome.

Next up was a bit of a shock and a real departure from the undercard.

Magnetic Man were the act I knew least about before this show, knowing that their trade was in dubstep. They completely tore it up with what can only be described as filthy dirty dubstep with a organ-splitting bass line, ending on recent hit I Need Air.

Crystal Castles proved a climatic headliner with their full-on electronic/indie/rock/drum 'n' bass, or something like that.

It suited the late-night end to the show and went down very well with the majority of the crowd, but was just too samey - I wasn't the only one who didn't see it through.

In the end it was a great mix of up and coming artists but in the wrong order. Magnetic Man, followed by Crystal Castles, then The Vaccines before a headline set from Everything Everything would have elevated this from a good show to a great one.

But it doesn't matter, there's little doubt all of these acts will have their part to play in a year of great music.