Live Review: My Disco, Vacuum, Makeda, Xavier Irvine

The 'sold out' signs are plastered around the venue, but the crowd is unfortunately sparse for opener Xavier Irvine. The man delivers up a set of '80s-tinged electronica, venturing from dance backing tracks to almost-soundtrack and is debatably the most accessible thing on tonight's bill.

Backing the eclectic and welcome unconventional support line-up, electronic upstart Makeda ups the production values and colours a surprisingly dense and intriguing canvas. Things feel more rooted in ambient and experimental music as opposed to electronic. The sounds are all carefully arranged and presented, while executed masterfully. Praise aside, it would be nice if Makeda had a slightly looser feel, allowing more personality to show. But this electronic wolf in sheep's clothing is one to keep an eye on.

Vacuum take the stage and, apart from our headliners, they're debatably the most fleshed-out thing on the line-up, which feels weird at this point. The duo of Andrea Blake and Nun's Jenny Branagan are appropriately dark and it feels like they take influence from the contents of their namesake. But it's also quite bangin'. The sound is perfect and, as usual, these guys are faultless and a highlight. 

A sub-heavy synth sound endlessly repeats to a silent and fucking packed room as My Disco fiddle with their gear while getting into a meditative state. The grandeur is high; the anticipation for this band to play something on their bloody instruments is high. When it does happen, the PA is tested and that original sound becomes backing for My Disco's thunderous wall-of-sound opener. As the song takes more form, its earlier tension-driven scenes start to feel bloated in comparison, which is a problem My Disco consistently present. In the right setting, they can feel totally authentic and the world they create believable. When it fails, it's an ironic snicker. Tonight, it's on the border. As is the crowd, which is divided: those who are lost in what they're doing, those who don't stick with it but can appreciate it while attempting to have a chat over the volume, and those who fucking hate it. The band unintentionally promotes such thoughts.

Things from a tech standpoint sound great, plus the atmosphere from the sold out crowd etc — it's hard not to have fun on some level. But My Disco need to be on bigger stages for their shtick to work — and be effective. But although they have dabbled, performance-wise and musically, they're not quite at the level of that band they're attempting to portray. Despite being seasoned, they're still a band that warrants attention and shows potential for growth.