Certain things come as standard at an Interpol concert. Dark suits will be worn, pasted-on scowls displayed, staccato riffs etched out amid pools of chilly luminescence shed by unwavering spotlights.

But lately the New York goth-poppers have added to their box of tricks. Fifth album El Pintor is positively brisk, with catchy choruses and easy-on-the-ear guitars. For fans craving a return to the first principles of Interpol's early music this intense, downbeat record offered a multitude of reasons to be cheerful.

On stage, meanwhile, the dapper three-piece have adopted a radical new strategy of looking as if they might possibly be enjoying themselves. At the Olympia, singer Paul Banks seemed peppy and determined; guitarist Daniel Kessler, the tortured auteur largely responsible for the band's minimalist sound, almost appeared to grin at one point. Verily, it was a pinch-yourself moment.

How much of this is due to the departure of bassist Carlos Dengler is difficult to say. A self-proclaimed 'dandy' with unsettling facial hair,by all accounts Dangler was the driving force behind Interpol's mid-career veer into dissonant artiness, an alienating aesthetic that reached its nedar with 2010's 'Interpol'. Stygian, impenetrably bleak, here was the sound of musicians trapped between baroque and a hard place.

With 'Carlos D' – as he insisted on being known – out of the picture, Interpol have learned how to smile again (though only in the figurative sense, naturally ). On the first of three nights in Dublin, the group delivered a punchy performance, moving easily between catalogue favourites such as Slow Hands and Say Hello To The Angels and zippy El Pintor standouts All The Rage Back Home and My Desire.

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That the new tracks were welcomed as heartily as the older stuff speaks to the scale of their recent rejuvenation. The band haven't quite stooped to repeating themselves - rather they are reimagining vintage tropes in new ways. It was good to have them back to their gloomy, imperious best.

At Olympia, Dublin tonight (Wednesday) and Thursday.

Online Editors