Digitalism @ The Liquid Room, 23 Aug

Most of the horde emerge from the venue sweat-soaked and grinning

Article by Nick Mitchell | 28 Aug 2008

9pm is really too early for an act like Digitalism to take the stage. The German duo are like the Chemical Brothers without the indie pretensions, or Daft Punk without the space-age sheen, and their high-octane electro-clash is tailored more to post-midnight revelry than the evening gig protocol. But this complaint is evidently lost on the Edinburgh crowd, who display all the loose-limbed energy of a chemically fuelled late-night knees-up. Digitalism - the pairing of wiry button pusher Jence Moelle and big, burly cymbal hitter Isi Tüfekçi - raise energy levels with the first bleep of Zdarlight, and maintain it through Idealistic, with required "Come on Edinboro" rabble-rousing, before saving the biggest surge of Balearic-style euphoria for set-closer Pogo. It's all anything but subtle: booming beats, heavy distortion and unremitting strobe, and most of the horde emerge from the venue sweat-soaked and grinning. It's now only 10.15pm, and the rest of the night can only be a comedown. [Nick Mitchell]

http://www.thedigitalism.com