Matthew Dear/Darkstar
XOYO, London
09/12/2010

Disguise, pseudonym, cloak and dagger… Aliases and alter egos are commonplace in electronic music, and both Darkstar and Matthew Dear have renovated and reinvented in 2010.

Darkstar broke through with ‘Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer’, a glitchy, beat-heavy patchwork that whetted appetites with its understated romance. After a much-publicised scrapping of an album in a similar vein, producers James Young and Aiden Whalley recruited singer James Buttery and what followed was a shift towards an intricate subtlety; stripping the sound back to an affecting combination of juddering bass and sweetly melancholic keys and vocals. Recalling Ian Brown and Radiohead, ‘North’ and ‘When It’s Gone’ tonight are equal parts empty spaces and rumbling electronics, with Buttery’s vocal impeccably rendered between sips of red wine.

Alongside Darkstar’s ‘North’, Matthew Dear’s ‘Black City’ stands out as one of 2010’s best albums. Glossy, perfectly formed pop songs are tinged with the Detroit techno of his previous work (under various aliases Audion, False and Jabberjaw), cementing the Texas-born artist into a niche all of his own. Following the smokey hush his support act leave behind, he strides onstage resplendent in catwalk monochrome, the cut of his suit matched by his band who also appear looking dapper behind trumpet, drums and bass. After a fire alarm briefly unsettles, Matthew Dear hits his stride and doesn’t falter. ‘You Put A Spell On Me’ is perfect, it’s all we can do not to pun here, but there’s no time for wordplay. ‘I Can’t Feel’ and ‘Little People (Black City)’ are a carnival, calypso and funk rhythms wriggle past wobbling bass and that distinctive vocal. Matthew Dear is everywhere at once, singing, playing guitar, fiddling with tabletop electronics and peacocking around the small stage. On a night for coming out from the shadows, we’ve seen two artists bring their records to the stage with perfect precision and beauty.

Ben Homewood