Live Review: Hot Chip & World's End Press

It's surprisingly empty, yet still as cosy as ever at the Tivoli tonight as Melbourne buzz outfit World's End Press hit the stage. However, the impressive electro-quartet don't let anything dampen their spirits; the fact that they're opening for Hot Chip tonight is something that is very clearly flattering to them. Frontman John Parkinson looks like he just rolled out of bed, but despite this leads the meticulous four-piece through a quick step of dancefloor-ready thumpers not so far removed from a time when Cut Copy was good. Bassist Sashi Dharann arguably steals the show, breezing around his guitar like it's air and cutting sick dance moves while looking like someone who's just left Metronomy. Radio single, Second Day Uptown is an incredibly competent track that soars head and shoulders above everything else, despite a performance that screams international potential already.

The room is much fuller, though still not capacity, when the seven-piece incarnation of Hot Chip slinks onto stage, leaping right into a brilliant three-pronged assault of Shake A Fist, the unsurpassable And I Was A Boy From School and the disco-laden Don't Deny Your Heart, all tracks delivered with retina-burning strobes and show-stopping percussion. This would be an impressive opening by any band's standards, but the group continue to push the crowd into a frenzy with Night And Day, Flutes and a version of Over And Over that feels so over-fuelled with kinetic energy that it just might spiral out of control.

Frontman Alexis Taylor is instantly charming, armed with geek-chic and an understated yet arresting vocal, while Joe Goddard is never far away playing the close sidekick, owning and guiding the instrumentation side of the show. Despite the electronic foundation heard on record, onstage it's a different story – everything is bolstered with percussion, an ever-present steel drum and, especially, live drums from the tireless Sarah Jones, who brings a punk-funk edge to the aesthetic. Influences are ever-present, the spirits of funk and dance legends living proudly on their sleeve, cemented with a snippet of Prince's If I Was Your Girlfriend during the smooth Look At Where We Are. Even Fleetwood Mac's Everywhere gets a run and is Hot Chippified in the process, and as they quickly run through an encore that includes stomper I Feel Better and festival anthem Let Me Be Him, you know these stupidly talented Brits are only just getting started.