Live Review: I'lls, Fishing, Guerre

Second birthday parties don't usually gather hundreds and play host to a pool of ambient, electronic pop music. And if they are? Well, we're hanging around with the wrong toddlers. Tonight The Workers Club put on one hell of a bash to celebrate Sydney-based record label Yes Please's second birthday, which also acts as Melbourne boys I'lls' A Warm Reception EP launch. Similar celebrations were held in Sydney and supported by FBi Radio last week, but Melbourne's instalment is endorsed by local youth network SYN.

Yes Please is a record label that started with a self-proclaimed “focus on emerging Australian artists”, and it's a slogan that definitely rings true, for the label looks after artists such as The Townhouses, Wintercoats, Guerre, and Fishing, all of whom perform and contribute to this evening's festivities. While the standard and pace hardly waver throughout the night, Lavurn Lee, who takes to the stage simply as Guerre, is extraordinary, and stands out from the already rich list of support acts. He casts out a set riddled with tightly executed tension and release, unpredictable but deeply satisfying highs and lows, and an overall addictive quality. At times the set is reminiscent of electronic masters such as Four Tet or Burial, and approval is abundant as the crowd distends with every track. It is not uncommon to hear comments such as, “This sounds good, who is it?” in the venue's carpeted thoroughfare, followed by determined strides into the bandroom in search of an answer.

Next up is Sydney duo Fishing, aka Russell Fitzgibbon and Doug Wright, who could also be recognised as a hearty 66.6 per cent of electronic group We Say Bamboulee. Having toured extensively both locally and abroad – as well as supporting the likes of SBTRKT and Snakadaktal – the boys own the stage during their brief set, and declare 2014 “the year of the turt” before performing the appropriately titled Do The Turt. During this track, punters are encouraged to retract their necks into their shirts to mimic the shelled reptile whose name they've abbreviated for the song's title.

The bandroom is heaving, its occupants most enthusiastic when the hotly anticipated I'lls take to the small stage. As the group play through A Warm Reception, there are flashes of Radiohead's brilliance and delicacy, as well as a quality borne by few: that is, to produce music appropriate for all occasions. Their EP is one that could easily rouse a group of revellers who are out on a Saturday night, calm a person in a more humble setting or be aired as background music and appreciated nonchalantly. The wonder of artistic support and camaraderie is on display tonight with the supreme talent of our local musicians reaffirmed. There's also a sense that 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Yes Please have gathered a very special group into their collective.