65Daysofstatic 
Koko, London
12/05/2010

It never used to be the case that you could go to a 65daysofstatic gig and expect a generous serving of crackle and pop… Then again, we’ve seen a goodly number of performers in recent weeks who’ve taken upping the electronic ante as a terrific excuse to become positively awash with gleeful inspiration – consider how staggeringly Rod Thomas has been reborn as Bright Light Bright Light, for instance, or just how heroically chipper Adem is now he’s in Silver Columns – and these gentlemen are no exception, having expounded on their intensely indie roots to flower into something not overly removed from being a disco Mogwai.

Mind you, they’ve kept their radicalism rather more risk-free by maintaining the piledriverly potency of their early work intact, but it’s clear that they’ve now realised they can be ferocious and fun without indulging in any compromise. So Joe in particular has moments of amusing rock posturing as he clambers onto every available surface, there’s a glorious outburst of joy at the close of ‘Await Rescue’ where all four members take up sticksman duties, and drummer Rob is a fantastic avatar for the foursome’s newfound enthusiasm, his shaggy blurriness recalling the special effects judders of Simon Biffy in the ‘Many Of Horror’s’ video.

And, while the old favourites receive their due respect (‘Retreat! Retreat!’, unsurprisingly, still thrills), it’s the newer adventures that sparkle most stirringly: ‘Go Complex’ kicks things off in chargingly large style, its chipmunky business and yapping sub-bass thundering through victoriously, ‘Dance Dance Dance’ takes an uncharacteristically orchestral, albeit synthesised, approach to poignant, prickly post-rock before developing rude techno tendencies, and ‘Tiger Girl’ simply astounds, hypnotising itself over a buzzingly insistent ten-minute plunge into, of all things, none-more-cowbell spacefaring mode. Now, more than ever, 65daysofstatic are very seriously going places, and they couldn’t be more welcoming should you join them for the ride.

Iain Moffat