It's one of the most talked about tours on the rock 'n' roll calendar and it comes crashing into Brighton on Thursday.

Music magazine NME puts its mighty weight behind four of its favourite bands of the moment and takes them on a national tour swallowing 19 cities whole in three weeks from Dublin to Liverpool and Brighton to the finale at London's Brixton Academy. The plan is to build up momentum for the annual NME awards - aka The Brats - at London's Hammersmith Palais, on Thursday, February 23.

This year, an incendiary line-up features Mercury-nominated Maximo Park and internet phenomenons Arctic Monkeys. The latter, in case you haven't noticed, have already made a massive impression this year, whipping up a media frenzy, selling the most-ever copies of a debut album in the first week of its release, rocketing up the charts to the number one spot within days and prompting such hasty accolades as "bigger than The Beatles."

Second headline act they may be but the Monkey Mafia - the band's outsized and fanatical following - are sure to hail them as the true stars of the show.

Conversely, you may not have heard much about opening acts We Are Scientists and Mystery Jets but no doubt you soon will.

The annual four-way rock-off has become a starting-block for bands on the road to greatness. Like the summer festivals, it's a chance for such bands to play bigger venues than they're used to, and reach a broader audience.

These bands, according to the NME, are the ones to watch in 2006. Last year Kaiser Chiefs were bottom of the bill, and went on to become the biggest band of 2005. Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, The Thrills and The Coral have also cut their rock teeth on the tour.

"The Shockwaves NME Awards Tour is a very special event,"says NME editor Conor McNicholas. "The bands on the tour this year are simply the most exciting new bands in the world right now. It's going to be a wild night in every venue, I can guarantee that."

Arctic Monkeys
"What's happened has been proper hysterical,"says lead singer and guitarist Alex Turner, acknowledging the hurricane of hype his band have been swept up by in the past few months.

"If I say 'phenomenon' it sounds like I'm right up my own a***, but we'd be daft to act like we didn't realise how incredible the past year's been. When it all started we were like, 'F****** hell, what's going off here?'."

Arctic Monkeys are Sheffield foursome Alex Turner (vocals), Jamie Cook (guitar), Andy Nicholson (bass) and Matt Helders (drums) - all barely out of their teens and already bonafide rock stars.

Their music, fuelled by Brit rock influences - obvious favourites include The Smiths and Oasis but also UK hip-hop bands like Roots Manuva and Braintax - is edgy, upbeat and tight as terraced houses. They stand out for their witty, cutting and acutely-observed lyrics about small town life where "there's only music so there's new ring tones"and where going out can sometimes mean having a pool cue wrapped around your head.

There's poetry by the bucketload, too, in grim but poignant tales about girls who've ended up on the streets: "She don't do major credit cards / I doubt she does receipts."They've got balls and the indie kids love it.

Key to Arctic Monkeys' success was their decision to dish out free demos of their music after gigs. It wasn't long before these demos started appearing on the web and doing the rounds, swiftly generating an army of fans - fans who would travel for miles to seen their underground heroes play, with their lyrics memorised backwards.

"I used to work in a bar at venues and it really annoyed me when bands would say, 'We've got CDs for sale at the back, three pound each,'"says Alex. "You'd think, 'F*** off, who do you think you are?' We had this one time where people were literally running up to the stage clambering for these demos, a right frenzy, and we were thinking, 'F****** hell this is cool.'"

First single I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor was eventually released on Franz Ferdinand's label Domino. It shot to number one without so much as a whiff of conventional promotion tactics. By the time the band's second single, The Sun Goes Down, came out, their popularity was already established.

With what can only be described as Monkey Mania sweeping the nation, it seems odd Arctic Monkeys are second headline act, especially as they have four nominations at next month's NME Awards - Best British Band, Best New Band, Best Live Band and Best Track.

But the boys are happy enough. "We're looking forward to being a support act again,"says Alex.

And it may be the last time they are.

We Are Scientists
"Lucid, discerning people with amazing taste and salacious physiques."That's how New York three-piece We Are Scientists describe their fans. Who says Americans don't have a sense of irony?

The deadpan, quirkily creative Brooklyn-based trio, who formed in 2000, consists of guitarist/lead vocalist Keith Murray, bass player Chris Cain and drummer Michael Tapper. All are in their late 20s with university degrees and - until very recently - proper day jobs.

It was only last year that their first major-label debut, With Love And Squalor, was released and, thanks to its rapturous reception, they've since given up the nine-to-five. Surely a slot on the tour means they will never have to return to the infinitely less exciting real world? Chris is not so sure.

"I know a lot of bands that have played on this tour which haven't had a lot of success so I hesitate to take it as any assurance of victory,"he says warily.

"It's a great sign and it's certainly an honour to be included in this group of bands and realise we're being perceived in a certain light, and it's done wonders for our egos. But we're certainly not going to go out and buy Ferraris just yet."

Just three days into the tour, Chris says: "It's been surprising to see the crowds. The three dates we've played so far have been great, very full attendance and the audience have been very enthusiastic.

"It's a weird feeling to have so much energy coming from the kids. I assume it must be drugs," he jokes. "It's great to have a bunch of people go nuts and that raises the bar. We know we have to at least match that level of energy."

The Scientists offer an engaging, energetic show and when things go "wrong"- when equipment fails - they love it.

What about their fellow bands? "I've been really impressed,"says Chris. "Arctic Monkeys are just amazing. Watching them play, watching the audience react to them. It's very exciting. It's incredible to watch thousands of kids jumping up and down, shrieking."

Mystery Jets
All the best bands create their own universe. Few, however, create one as strange and bewitching as Mystery Jets.

Hailing from that bohemian paradise Eel Pie Island in London, Mystery Jets give new meaning to the term dad-rock. Yes, lead singer Blaine Harrison's dad Henry is actually in the band.

"I was in a band when I was at school,"says Henry. "The other guys in the band were brilliant but I went off to study architecture.

"My regret at doing that is why I've pursued this with such relentless force. As for what people think about me, I can only go on what happens live which is generally incredibly positive."

The rest of the gang, a raggle-taggle bunch who favour impromptu gigs in eccentric locations to conventional venues, are Will Rees (guitar), Kai Fish (bass) and Kapil Trivedi (drums).

Their most formative influence was Henry's record collection, which Kai, Blaine and Will devoured. Weaned on a diet of Pink Floyd and King Crimson, the band have created a sound which has been described as "baroque goth folk meets punk-rock racket"and "The Pogues crossed with Belle and Sebastian and some long-lost prog-rock band."

Excited about following in footsteps of the likes of The Coral, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs in the opening slot of the tour, Kai says: "It's a complete confidence boost for us to have the NME believing in what we're doing.

"We've just got to play the best set we've got in us,"adds Blaine. "We're just going to have to steal the show - but all the bands will be trying the same thing."

Maximo Park
Maximo Park have had an amazing year.

Formed just two years ago in their native Newcastle, the five-piece - singer Paul Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd, bassist Archis Tiku, keyboardist Lukas Wooler and drummer Tom English - have swiftly risen to indie fame with hits such as Graffiti and Apply Some Pressure.

Appearances at Glastonbury and Reading festivals were followed by tours of America and Europe and a Mercury Music Prize nomination.

The Killers, who headlined last year's Shockwaves NME tour, are a hard act to follow - but Maximo Park are confident they will pull it off.

"There's always pressure when you're headlining,"said the group's vocalist Paul Smith. "You always want to entertain people as you're the last thing people see before they leave the building. Our shows are known for their energy and the passion that's on display and people will get more of the same on this tour. We won't let up now."

Claiming to be inspired by no other frontmen, Paul cuts an intriguing and charismatic figure not unlike a junior Jarvis Cocker. He says he transforms when he approaches a stage.

"I react to the music and filter it through my body,"he says. "It's different every night - different places with different atmospheres and different people. From my point of view, it's a very basic thing that happens on stage.

"People say, 'That Paul Smith, he thinks he's a bigger star than he is,' but when I'm jumping around like an idiot I've got no time to think about being cool or anything other than giving 100 per cent commitment.

"I am a servant of the music and I've got no self-confidence outside of that. It comes out of you and if you can't express it you shouldn't be on stage. It is, after all, built on a higher level so people can see you."

"Primarily, the songs were written for the stage,"adds Lukas. "Anyone who's not familiar will need to be entertained and we want to grab them and hold their attention from the first to the final note.

"So, we made the songs short and hook-laden, with clear melodies and lyrics, and energetic throughout."