Clean Bandit, O2 Academy Brixton, review: Innovative and addictive
New songs 'Real Love' and 'Stronger' are sure-fire future chart hits
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Your support makes all the difference.Clean Bandit lack the urban credentials many music fans believe they must possess. Cambridge-educated, this creative foursome started life as a string quartet.
But after selling out Brixton's O2 Academy, it is clear how far they have come, and how rapidly they have risen in the hierarchy of cool.
Opener and debut single "A+E" sees hired female vocalists Elisabeth Troy and Florence Rawlings ignite a club-like atmosphere, before up-tempo songs "Come Over" and "Up Again" get everyone moving.
New songs "Real Love" and "Stronger" are sure-fire future chart hits, while "Mozart's House" shows the band at their innovative best, fusing classical flourishes with thumping electro-pop beats.
Clean Bandit's on-stage chat is limited, resulting in a slightly disappointing rapport with fans, but most seem happy to let the music suffice.
"Rihanna" and "Dust Clears" are more chilled-out but welcomed, before the group's biggest hit to date - and this year's most streamed song - closes an otherwise pulsing set.
"Rather Be", the blue smartie of Clean Bandit's energetic repertoire, hypes the crowd from those first recognisable violins and any hope of resisting a dance is lost.
Deliciously addictive, this quartet's fresh-sounding tunes are a reminder that summer is never too far off and it's always the right time for a party.
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