Academy, Glasgow
Despite being ensconced in a pod of gear, the Lawrence brothers offer club music that's uplifting in all the right ways
It has been a remarkable year for DJs Guy and Howard Lawrence, two brothers orbiting either side of 20 who, as the group Disclosure, have grown exponentially in popularity and influence. Since their breakthrough hit, Latch, charted in late 2012, Disclosure's sleek interpretation of deep house – immediate as pop-art, but fluid and spacious enough to immerse yourself in – has discharged a string of memorable singles and a No 1 album, Settle, that many fancied might take the Mercury prize.
Amid a busy global touring schedule, the brothers have even managed to squeeze in the year's ultimate accessory: a brief beef with Azealia Banks, the result of an aborted collaboration. This sold-out tour of substantial, but still clubby, venues feels valedictory. The first thing Guy Lawrence says to a giddy audience, many of whom wield enormous foam fingers and plastic two-pint flagons, is: "It's good to be back in the UK."
It might feel like a darts crowd, but they're here to dance. Each Lawrence brother performs from their own techno-pod of laptops, drum pads and cabling and, although the haywire gear occasionally obscures the looks of concentration on their faces, their legs remain visible. When the siblings start jumping – as on the skittery garage of Voices, augmented by guest vocalist Sasha Keable – the entire room mimics their movements.
Keable aside, Disclosure's performance is not just DAT tapes and the occasional triggered sample: Guy, the elder Lawrence, drums precisely throughout, while Howard supplies dusky vocals for the moody opener F for You, and straps on a powder-blue bass for When a Fire Starts to Burn, a minimalist banger that samples "hip-hop preacher" Eric Thomas.
White Noise, Disclosure's biggest hit, sparks an unlikely crowd singalong, a counterpoint to its nagging electronic earworm riff. They also play an extended version of the new track Apollo, a confidently fat two-note bass progression threaded sparingly with a euphoric choral vocal. During a particularly intense breakdown, it almost skanks, suggesting a potential post-Settle direction.
For the climactic version of Latch, the projected, minimalist face that has become a visual signature for the duo lip-synchs along, like a Bafta mask doing karaoke. It works far better than it should, and is uplifting in all the right ways. Disclosure may be millennials, but they would appear to have the talent, and focus, to become perennials.
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by Graeme Virtue via Music: Electronic music | theguardian.com
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