Saturday, January 5, 2013

Review: Le Galaxie - The Workman's Club

2012 was a bumper year for Le Galaxie with the release of the critically and commercially successful  ‘Fade 2 Forever EP’ and a string of festival appearances; each seemingly bigger and more outrageous than the last, Forbidden Fruit being especially memorable for the introduction of the Dead Presidents facemasks for the first time.

Le Galaxie’s popularity has grown so much in the last twelve months that they sold out The Workman’s Club; not once, but twice, a phenomenal achievement for an Irish band. Their two-day mini residency dubbed Workmania saw them up their game once again.

Last Day of 1984 warmed up the crowd with an emphatic performance of songs from their début album ‘Wake Up The Waves.’ The bands sprawling electro sound features high energy radio friendly tracks such as single Rivers Edge, brooding Eno-esque instrumentals and blissed out indie-comedowns. Last Days Of 1984 have a secret weapon in their quest for electro perfection, a Ukulele; which, when combined with Afro Beat drums creates an infectious electro Graceland vibe. With new material in the pipeline expect big things from Last Days Of 1984 in 2013.

The room went dark and a hail of glow-sticks rained down on the crowd as Le Galaxie took to the stage in front of a capacity crowd of festive revellers. Heat City instantly set the tone for the high octane performance that was to follow. The energy on stage was mimicked, if not surpassed by the crowd who danced and cheered relentlessly; the sight of a cowbell drawing the kind of reception normally reserved for superstars.

Le Galaxie have honed their live performance into a breath-taking spectacle with frontman Michael leading the charge, while the band deliver a carefully crafted mix of live instruments v’s synth trickery. We Bleed The Blood Of Androids is an early highlight thanks to its seemingly endless crescendo of guitar and drums.  Breakthrough single Midnight Midnight’s gritty synths and “Woo” chorus  makes for a perfect slice of electro pop. Orion takes it one step further with sleek bass powered verses juxtaposed against a chorus of duelling guitars and synths. Nightcrawler showcases the group’s progression. The sampled vocal allows frontman Michael to perform some of his signature dance moves and engage even more with the crowd.

Just when it seemed the crowd couldn’t get any more responsive Le Galaxie play Love System featuring Elaine Mai. The response is astonishing; and a true moment of unity is experienced throughout the venue. Beyond Transworld closes the show in some style before the band receives a rapturous, hands in the air farewell to the strains of the Jurassic Park theme tune.

Le Galaxie never fails to entrance a crowd with their high energy retro leaning dance music. They are simply one of the finest acts in Ireland today. Unfortunately for us it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches on.

Photo: Kieran Frost

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