Metronomy - ICA, London

Afraid not, it’s just the mass converging of London’s hipsters and hangers-on to the smooth surroundings of the ICA to see Metronomy, a three piece Brighton band who deal in catchy electro melodies, heartfelt lyrics and pound shop lighting rigs.

The three Electro funsters, led by Joseph Mount and backed up by Oscar and Gabriel, have recently relocated to London and are becoming a permanent fixture on the DJ/clubbing circuit and have built up a loyal following that could easily have packed out the sold out ICA many times over

While the crowd could keep Vice in parties for a good few weeks the band like to keep things simple. They arrive on stage clad in black, apart from their trademark pound-shop lights and launch straight into their mash-up of electro/jazz/indie that soon gets the cooler than thou gathering nodding their heads and tapping their lethal footwear in appreciation.

Metronomy have developed a rock solid formula for getting a crowd moving, pick the catchiest melody you can think of, strip it to it’s bare bones, distort, repeat, lay on mean bass lines, repeat, lay over some simple lyrics, repeat faster and more intense until everyone is dancing. You just can’t help yourself. The formula grabs you and won’t let you go until your sweating amid the fluid mass of the crowd. 

It helps that the band are obviously having as much fun as you are, they knock out track after track with tongue in cheek abandon and coordinated disco-dance moves, there’s no posturing here.  Just fun times. 

Songs such as Heartbreaker and Radio Ladio, the lead single from their hotly anticipated album, go down well but the real mayhem is reserved for an older track You Could Easily Have Me. The simplest of melodies breaks down into one of the most joyful songs I’ve ever heard, with a storming Melodica refrain provided by Oscar Cash that won’t leave your head for days, and that’s a compliment.

The crowd disburse grinning and sweaty and each with renewed delight in the simple joys of great melodies and childish fun. Catch Metronomy as soon as you can and jump on the hipster bandwagon. This time they’re on to something.