The Brudenell’s clientele is usually drawn from an eclectic (sub)cultural strata, but the capacity crowd in attendance for the genre-defying electro duo Fuck Buttons has to be one of the most diverse. The obligatory game of spot the T-shirt yielded results spanning Boards of Canada to Misfits. It’s not entirely surprising, though, given the vast hybridity of the duo’s sound, as demonstrated in tonight’s career-spanning set.
In selecting The Haxan Cloak by way of support, they gave themselves a tough act to follow, and in many respects, the lesser-known act – the brainchild of Bobby Krlic – proved to be more impressive on the night. His 45-minute set, which combined dark ambient with occasional beats of crushing power, was brilliant was partially improvised and brilliantly executed. Playing in almost complete darkness, save for a set of small white strobes pointing out into the crowd, and rigged to give a trance-inducing sound-to-light display, Krlic built – and sustained – a remarkably dense atmosphere that was utterly compelling, both aurally and visually.
That isn’t to say that Fuck Buttons were anything less than brilliant, but in comparison to the Haxan Cloak’s evolving and evolutionary – not to mention highly nuanced – sound, they seemed a little, well, predictable. Not that anyone was complaining: their knack for twitchy trance and throbbing basslines coupled with industrial rhythms is undeniably a winning formula. If upbeat overlays are integral to their compositions, then so too are the darker undercurrents, resulting in non-dance dance music you can really get lost in.
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What could be a rather uninteresting stage show is transformed by the canny use of motion-sensor imaging projected on a large screen at the back of the stage, and the set-list is well-considered, providing an endless variety of tempo and texture.
Technical issues mean they’re forced to leave the stage for quarter of an hour, but after fire alarms sound through the PA and the crowd begins to overheat with twitchy anticipation, they return to complete their set and then things get really sweaty as the tempo and temperature increases. After a short encore, they depart triumphant, and we leave hot, sweaty and happy.
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