Django Django’s self-titled début was one of the standout releases of the first few months of 2012, so I was excited to see that they had an Oxford date on their current tour.
Support were provided by Nzca/lines who started their funk/electro-pop set strongly but the material got weaker and weaker as they went on. They certainly have potential – they are very tight live (a mix of drum machines, sequences, live keys and bass) – but the songs were largely missing that all important melodic hook that draws you in.
Django Django more than lived up to the promise of the album. Live they are just as intricate, but the sound is bigger and grittier without losing the clarity. Highlights of the set included the mission-statement of Default, the really-should-be-a-single Firewater and the dub-tastic Skies Over Cairo. It’s always good to catch a band in a small venue at the start of their career and I hope that these guys will be around a while. Can’t wait to see how their psychedelic-electronic-art-rock sound develops!
