Live Review: The Aston Shuffle, Just A Gent

Just A Gent was decked out in appropriately regal attire that matched the moniker but not necessarily the tunes. Taking favourites from the nineties and noughties and adding a bit of spin seemed to be his specialty. Heavy, almost industrial, beats from the likes of Dillon Francis were mixed with classics like Tears For Fears, Everybody Wants To Rule To Rule The World and Madison Ave Don’t Call Me Baby and it was clear that Just A Gent could mould a crowd like putty in his hands. He spectacularly built the anticipation for The Aston Shuffle, who took over from his highness in a clear mood to get the crowd loose and groovin’.

Opening with There’s No Place Like Home, in replacement of Kaelyn Behr on vocals was a man with a beret and a brilliant voice. While his name was unknown, he delivered the opening number as well as later hits like Take It Away with an impassioned and magnificent stage presence. In fact, while Mikah Freeman and Vance Musgrove (the two lads who make up The Aston Shuffle) were surprisingly engaging for an electro act, it was the guest artists who blew the crowd away and got everybody dancing. Elizabeth Rose made an appearance for her number, Back And Forth, and Alice Katz was the clear star of the night with her jaunty dance moves and confidently stunning vocal range on Ordinary Love and The Aston Shuffle’s remix of London Grammar’s Wasting My Young Years. Katz almost sounded better than Hannah Reid herself.

The packed room in the Oxford was treated to a sneak peek from Shuffle’s forthcoming album Photographs, with a yet to be released tune that bodes well for fans of the dance duo. They haven’t ventured too far from their pop/house roots but it seems as though they might be delving into some heavier beats with toned down vocals and exploring their horizons more experientially as producers. Rest assured, if their live show is anything to go by, the new record is going to be mind-blowing.