Live Review: Habits, Lucy Cliche, Geryon

It's a full house early on at Northcote Social Club. Geryon is an interesting way to begin the evening as heavily edited pieces/sounds are arranged in a super-modern electronic (a la Arca/FKA Twigs) fashion. It's a highbrow journey throughout, which we get lost in. Geryon get a great response from the crowd.

There is something about Lucy Cliche's set that doesn't sit right. The young Cliche has commanded some massive audiences of late, but tonight the atmosphere is lacking and she looks slightly naked up on the big NSC stage with no real lighting or effects to think of. She favours faster beats this evening with playful synth and bass lines. It's weird seeing her perform relatively early, but those ready to absorb her brand of brooding electronica have their highlight.

Dark electro-pop duo Habits officially launch their long-awaited EP of aural bliss. Our headliners arrive on stage: the instantly identifiable, orange-haired Habits. Those keeping an eye on this young duo will have seen them shoot into the spotlight of late from a series of memorable local performances and it's great to see that they have managed to sell-out a venue this size. Clearly humbled, they spare no expense in bringing Ugly Cry to life. The mix is clear as day and penetratingly deep while a stage/light show dazzles the eyes. The duo's sound clearly has roots in classic electro-pop and borrows a few ideas here and there from The Knife; rhythmically pitch-shifted banger Gerger is a prime example. It's slightly weird and dark, but boy! You'll dance all night to it!

A few niggling sound issues arise, but are ultimately minor and don't interrupt proceedings too much. Tonight it feels as if Habits are playing at Meredith's Supernatural Amphitheatre rather than Northcote Social Club as all dance with no inhibitions. MSG is another highlight; the androgynous dark future that the song portrays is perfectly emulated within this environment. By the time they wrap up their set, things start to become a tad repetitive. But not too unwelcome since the crowd chants for more once Habits leave the stage. But with Habits on their current trajectory, it won't be too long before we see them again in bigger and better venues. These guys are unstoppable.