REVIEW: DISCLOSURE, TRINITY, BRISTOL (6/3/13)
Having sold their UK shows months in advance, the buzz surrounding this show and this electronic duo was undeniable and Disclosure’s most recent Bristol appearances at the O2 Academy with SBTRKT, and at ‘Annie Mac Presents’ for the In:Motion series, and had obviously left a strong impression. It was great to see them in their ‘live’ setup, and on a Wednesday evening it very much had a gig vibe, with songs followed by applause from an ecstatic audience, and not just a continuous DJ set.
Following a pumping support set from ‘Shadowchild’ Disclosure’s live performance was astounding, playing a well-arranged set, and with impressive production and a great sound system through a fortunate upgrade from the original venue at The Exchange just down the road. Their set showcased plenty of tunes creating a modern mixture of garage and house with soulful melodic chopped vocals, infectious funky basslines and a euphoric and tasteful use of synths reminiscent of early Joy Orbison. They dropped a lot of earlier tunes such as ‘Tenderly’ and ‘Flow’, but also their more recent singles such as ‘Latch’ and ‘White Noise’, alongside some brand new tracks off of their forthcoming album out soon on Island Records.
The two brothers Guy and Howard really did show that their talent isn’t just in producing and DJing, and proved this through their confident use of live vocals, bass, keyboard, samples, effects and solid percussion. The ‘live’ percussive element really did compliment the original tracks and gave them much more dance appeal, and was definitely not just a badly mimed gimmick. It’s impressive how far this duo have come in such a short space of time, and it is evident they have the capacity to continue this way as well. Disclosure’s strength lies in the fact that they can appeal to the fans of underground electronic music, yet can write songs, with accessible structure and vocals showing good balance of dance production and live musicality, landing themselves prime-time radio airplay, big festival slots, and a much broader type of fan base. It’s definitely worth catching them live wherever you can.
Words: Jake Luxton
