Live Review: Born Ruffians, Voltaire Twins

Perth duo the Voltaire Twins were on warm-up duties, and offered a strong set of frothy synth-pop that, despite relying on derivative sonic elements (retro synth textures, thematic earnestness to the point of silliness), sounded fresh and confident. Young Adult in particular was a brilliant slice of savvy pop writing that featured big hooks and great chunks of singalong goodness. It felt balanced, and tackled some meaty subject matter (growing up) with energised honesty, minus any superfluous whimsy. It set a high watermark for the set that would've been perfect as a final number. While their remaining material was good, it suffered a little from repetition. They know how to write good stuff. Hopefully they roll their sleeves up and find the inspiration again.

For a guy wrestling with a busted voice, Born Ruffians frontman Luke Lalonde wasn't giving much away. The guy is weirdly talented with pitch control and has a formidable range, while their songs tend to jump around quite wildly up and down octaves, but if fuzzy bass player Mitch Derosier hadn't actually told us Lalonde was under pressure we would never have known. Major kudos for sticking it out, Luke!

The Ruffians have moved away from their rough (heh…) beginnings and have recently produced their slickest work yet, Birthmarks, their third full-length. Their compressed rubber band-pop sound has expanded – the edges have softened – and they've done so without surrendering their chirpy dynamics in the process. Their live show is still a total blast, and their newer, steadier material opens things up for the audience to sing along without sounding like a zoo. Lead single Needle had a raucous call and response going on with the central riff drawing the whole crowd together in a big open throated yell, Lalonde's voice skipping over the top in the lead-up and breakdown of the hook. It's a catchy song already, but the supercharged crowd pushed it into a higher place.

The band were on point all night, moving through tonal shifts and tricky time signatures no sweat, and the crowd were ready at every turn. The vibe stayed positive, with a quick scan revealing wall-to-wall smiles. By the finale the Factory was totally buzzing. It was an airtight performance from one of the best kept secrets in Canada's indie scene, with an overabundance of talent, noise and fun wrung out of every minute.