Blondes @ Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 24 Aug

In an age where electronic music is saturated by bar after bar of aesthetic perfection, the mounting exposure that Brooklyn electronic two-piece Blondes – aka Sam Haar and Zach Steinman – have received over the past year or so is largely due to their imperfect approach to production. Recent LP Swisher is by far their most percussive effort to date, and indicates the duo’s desire to transfer an innate brutal energy from the studio to the club.

Tonight is Blondes’ second appearance at Soup Kitchen in just over a year, and they are joined by Manchester-based up-and-comer James Booth, who has recently been championed in the States via cult LA imprint 100% Silk. Booth treats the earlybirds to a variety of funk, acid and techno, epitomised in his choice selection of The Globe’s genre-bending classic Adventure Party. By 1am the crowd has filled out nicely, just in time to see Haar and Steinman station themselves behind an array of knobs, keys and FX units.

Their sound is marked by layers of synthetic washes gradually built, deconstructed and rebuilt over the course of each track. But as they bustle through Aeon and Bora Bora, it soon becomes clear that the rugged charm of the record cannot be consistently maintained as a live spectacle. Yes, the unpredictable movement is there, and the chemistry between the two is obvious, but the more delicate nuances found on Swisher are frequently smothered in a barrage of sonic fuzz. It’s difficult to distinguish between each track at the best of times, and it’s only when they get around to playing Elise that any sense of familiarity is reconvened; though by then the damage has already been done.