La Roux/Cassette Kids/Miami Horror/Art vs Science
The Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney
27/03/2010

Remember a time when Neon Nerds and ringpops were the best sweets ever? When net-wear was in fashion and Frankie was relaxing in the loosest sense of the word?  Well more than half the youngsters in attendance at tonight’s Bacardi hosted bash don’t – they were barely on solids the first time round, but they’ve shown up for the 80’s revival tonight with gusto.
Sydney’s Cassette Kids have their own take on kitsch; singer Katrina Noorbergen’s sprightly ilk being betrayed only by her coquettish Debbie Harry mannerisms, shoulder pads and big hair. And with energy as infectious as the foursome’s ebullient gleaming pop and fizzy choruses, damn these kids have got tunes in spades. Miami Horror, on the other hand, have only got one great song. And it shows. The breezy, New Order-tinged disco rush of ‘Sometimes’ sounds like Calvin Harris copulating with a glitter ball, and dominates the set which is otherwise made up of ‘When Doves Cry’ rip-offs.
Art Vs Science are a strange proposition. One of them sings like Freddy Krueger and they make molten Presets basslines topped with musings about flippers and the French language. A cover of ‘Boom Shake the Room’ sees a premature appearance from La Roux’s Elly Jackson who, while dancing onstage to ruminations of the lyrical miracle that is Will Smith, seems as goofy and at ease as we’ve ever seen her. But solo, tonight the flame-haired chanteuse seems flat and uninspired, albeit despite early apologies accepted for a sore throat. We obviously still love the austere ‘Colourless Colour’, the euphoria of ‘Fascination’’s magical chorus and the irresistible groove of ‘Bulletproof’, but it all seems a little lost and unfocused. Lucky for Ms Jackson then, these are some of the best pop tracks of the last few years. For that, and that only, we’ll let her have an off day.

Dannii Leivers