PERTURBATOR – Brisbane, Australia 31st January 2020
Although Maximum Volume is a page largely dedicated to guitar music from the heavier end of the spectrum (metal, hard rock and punk), this evening of abrasive yet uplifting electronic music fits quite comfortably alongside more traditional types of loudness.
Tonight, a diverse range of people can be seen at the venue, from metalheads and goths to indie “hipster” types. Such is the lure of Perturbator, the pseudonym of Parisian synthwave musician James Kent. I say “synthwave” but this is a much more intense take on the genre than the comparatively sedate pulses of Kavinsky or Gunship. Perturbator’s approach is more like M83’s triumphant walls of sound colliding with the “big beat” of 90s acts like Underworld or The Chemical Brothers, occasionally breaking into the blast beats of extreme metal.
Prior to Perturbator, however, is local musician Monsters Around Us, the alias of Colin Cadell. His highly amiable stage banter aside, this is seriously dark stuff – glitchy beats, industrial hums and chugging metal riffs, Cadell creates his knotty soundscapes with a combination of laptop and guitar (with the distortion set to “stun”). More cerebral and blatantly experimental than the headliners, Monsters Around Us receives a deservedly warm response from the audience.
Following a dramatic ambient intro, the evening headliners take to the stage – well, headliner (singular) would be more accurate, although the army-of-one that is James Kent of Perturbator gets some undeniable rhythmic boost by the presence of a live drummer. As Kent headbangs over his synths, the drums thunder over the top with a combination of techno, drum-and-bass and metal elements. Kent’s synths, meanwhile, take the sequencers and crystalline melodies of ‘70s electronic legend Giorgio Moroder as refracted through the French house movement of the ‘90s and ‘00s – and then pumps up the volume until the bass tones physically impact the body. On record, his music is aggressive though softened somewhat with the atmospheric synth melodies. The same goes for this live show, only the volume and energy are multiplied, no doubt enhanced by the dramatic synchronised lighting.
There is no stage banter at all from either of the gents on stage, but it doesn’t matter. The members constantly engage the audience non-verbally, encouraging us to air punch, clap along and dance our asses off.
This we do with abandon, as Perturbator makes delicious mincemeat out of their hyperactive heavy electro anthems. Opening number Birth Of The New Model is a bit of a builder, starting out with a punchy, mid-tempo industrial vibe before it mutates into a techno-on-steroids banger. The pace is kept up with Neo Tokyo, which could easily appear on an alternate soundtrack to Akira. Most recent single Excess lives up to its title, despite an almost Cure-ish mid-section, but this is only brief, making way for the fast tempo and melodic hook to reappear.
The show doesn’t let up right up to final number The Cult Of 2112 which sounds like a chase sequence from an 80s sci-fi flick a la Buckaroo Banzai. Without any stage banter to the audience, the songs almost blend into one techno metal monster, a Godzilla of anime fantasy and brain-melting volume. As you may have guessed, a great time was had by all.
Reviewer: Matt Thrower
