Heading out to Camden’s Electric Ballroom on Thursday for some tasty electro goodness, Sydney’s The Presets, didn’t disappoint. Delivering a storming set to a happy crowd, they demonstrated why they’ve been such an important part of the Modular Records driven Aussie-electro invasion of our dancefloors in recent years.
The dance-punk duo consist of Julian Hamilton on vocals and keyboards, and Kim Moyes on drums and keyboards – you can never have too many keyboards clearly - and they create a whole lot of noise for a two-some. The boys have an interesting heritage, having met at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music where they enjoyed Beethoven by day, and Bjork to New Order by night in clubland. This resulted in an exciting mix of electro, techno, pop, synth and house, combining pop-perfect lyrics with beats that get you dancing and Hamilton’s haunting, booming vocals. It was a sound welcomed by the audience on Thursday, which represented a fair mix of gig-goers with a heavy dollop of students, who were dancing from start to finish. Crowd-pleasing first album smash ‘You Are The One’ was confidently got out of the way early on, driving the audience into a frenzy that was sustained thanks to the strength of new material. Recent singles ‘This Boy’s in Love’ and organ-packed, stuttered-vocal masterpiece ‘Talk Like That’ were absolute highlights and no-one wanted them to leave the stage, to which they happily responded with a solid encore. It was hard to tell sometimes if this felt more like a rave or a rock gig but it was certainly a satisfied crowd that emerged sweatily onto Camden’s streets.
This tour is showcasing the album Apocalypso following 2005’s debut, Beams. Hamilton describes their musical journey as partying with meaning - “The last record was one big hedonistic party, dancing, partying, screwing. Which is valid, really valid, but I wanted to actually say something this time”. Still definitely boys who like to have fun, tireless touring has built them a substantial global fanbase and confirmation of their electro credentials in late 2007 when they supported Daft Punk on tour. If you fancy catching The Presets in London, their next upcoming gig is headlining at Modular Records NeverEverLand night on November 15th – we recommend you get there with your dancing shoes on.
By Jaz Cummins
