Live Review: Rat & Co, Oisima, Tetrahedra

It’s a sedate Friday night in the bandroom at Howler that sees Tetrahedra playing to a sparsely populated room. Their quirky, angular synth pop has a light fresh feel, making them a band to watch.

After an interlude of jazzy house, Oisima or ‘Beanieman’ as the group next to us call him deals a solo set on a few keyboards. It’s mainly beats with a lot of sampled vocals and layers of fairly ambitious melodies that holds plenty of appeal to the hippies, homeboys and funky dreads in the room.

This evening, Melbourne trio Rat & Co celebrate the release of their new single A.I. off their forthcoming third album, Third Law. The show is comprised of mainly of new material, which the outfit is keen to test out on fans ears. Their set is all about the music so there isn’t the usual banter. After a few tracks Joshua Delaney tells us they are a little shakey on the new stuff but seems happy that “so far everything is going alright”.

Although many of the tunes are unfamiliar they are easy feelgood ear candy that moves between atmospheric moments and head-nodding groove. It’s easy to slip into a locked groove and eat to the beat on tracks like these but Rat & Co move through a lengthy play list at a brisk pace, playing what feels like radio edits and not extended dance mixes.

Their trademark remains the lush washes of synths and danceable beats backed the drive of live drums and heavily processed guitar. It’s kind of fascinating to watch Delaney sample and manipulate his falsetto coo into something that has a magnificent presence in the mix.

The new single delivers ancient middle eastern folk melodies delivered through electronic instruments as a starting point that evolves into hypnotic kaleidoscope of sound as intricate as any of those geometric patterns from that part of the world. Although there is a retro nineties feel about Rat & Co there is an ageless charm about their music. Their immersive music which at times feels like a free fall through the infinite fractal beauty is complimented by brilliantly realised computer generated visuals that hold our attention and push our minds through abstract shapes and colours.

It feels like a while since we caught up with Rat & Co. It’s reassuring to see that they are still in fine form and preparing for what seems like more extensive touring.