An undeniably strange venue for a rave but nevertheless a rave is what we got.
The transitioning Australian duo play material mostly from their debut album, Beams. Their sound is made be performed and is incredibly versatile – they play the no-nonsense, reverberating synth track Down Down Down –which is about as close to a ‘traditional’ sounding dance track as you can get – yet it’s followed by the smooth, melodic ‘Girl And The Sea’ – with feathery, lamenting vocals. Anthemic ‘Are You The One’ is what Kasabian should sound like – a swaggering yet robotic scuzzy confrontation of a tune. Current single ‘My People’ naturally elicits the greatest screams of the night – the perfect track for sweaty dancefloors.
This is really intelligent dance music that is closer than any other attempt before to make the hipster indie kids dance. Mostly due to Kim Moyes live drums which layered over the stuttering electro beats and sleazy synths reign in the music and makes it feel like you’re not lost in a haze of strobes, ecstasy, drones and squeaky voices, but actually witnessing an organic process, music being born and created in a live arena. Frontman Julian Hamilton is an irresistible, flailing ball of unadulterated energy and leads you through this surging of different emotions – its music that attacks from all sides- it pumps you up, brings you down and knocks you sideways. The Presets manage to sound sophisticatedly unsophisticated, ramshackle yet orderly and they gleefully revel in their music’s dirtiness and suggestiveness.
