TV On The Radio returned to London for the first of three nights at Islington Assembly Hall, broadcasting a brilliant performance as seen from my balcony vantage point.

Twenty years on from the release of their debut album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, the American art-rockers reunited after half a decade away from primetime to recapture some of the primal power of their early live performances

The assembled crew for this short run of shows across New York, Los Angeles, and London was unfortunately missing founding guitarist and producer Dave Sitek, who still remains a member of the band.

So the core cast of regulars—Tunde Adebimpe, Kyp Malone, and jack-of-all-trades Jaleel Bunton—were joined by long-time touring members David Smith (multi-instrumentalist) and Jahphet Landis (drummer), along with new touring bassist Jesske Hume.

While Sitek’s presence was missed, Bunton’s bountiful versatility came to the fore, as the former drummer took up lead guitar and absolutely nailed the frantic post-punk shredding required on so many of the tracks.

Although this tour coincides with the 20th anniversary of Desperate Youth…, the setlist leaned less on their debut than you might expect.

Rather, the band delivered decisive cuts of their finest mid-to-late 2000s work, when they’d found their footing both creatively and commercially. As many as six tracks from 2008’s Dear Science dominated the night, while 2014’s Seeds sprouted three renditions from my favourite album of theirs.

But if ever there were a lucky kind, it’s me (me, me, me) to see the star of the setlist.

TVOTR got a curse they cannot lift, and when ‘Wolf Like Me’ comes on, you only wish they'd keep howling forever.