{grate 4} It’s been almost four years since psychedelic Australian
electro duo the Presets began serving up hard, pulse-pounding, dance-all-night
beatlines, and their newest release, Apocalypso, soldiers on right where 2005’s
Beams left off: in your face.
The Presets had a lot to live up to with their sophomore
attempt after racking up a huge clubgoer fan base with sweaty mindfucks like “I
Go Hard, I Go Home” and a remixed Beams re-release featuring head-pounding
collaborations from fellow thumping electro acts like Simian Mobile Disco,
Digitalism and Midnight Juggernauts. But judging from Apocalypso’s No. 1 debut
on the Australian charts, coupled with a sold-out concert tour, the boys are
back with a snarling, infectiously danceable vengeance, and it’s easy to see why.
Dirty bass lines and gritty beats ignite opener “Kicking and
Screaming,” an electronic storm that sets the pace for the album’s remaining 10
songs. To put it simply, when Julian Hamilton’s baritone finally slashes the
relentless synth verses of the almost desperately built-up intro with a
piercing bark of “When I was young, I collected my heroes,” it will be
impossible to not drop everything you’re doing and dance like you know how.
As the jarring rollercoaster ride of “Kicking and Screaming”
ends, you’ll be dazed, grinning and gasping, but instead of letting you rest,
the duo immediately blankets the dance floor with the industrial, almost
ragged, rhythm of head-thumper “My People.” And it just keeps going right on
down to the last song, the soft but dynamic “Anywhere,” which features filthy
lyrics (“Deeper, I know you want it deeper”) plastered over a steady barrage of
pulsing beatlines. Add to the mix songs like “Aeons,” which ditches the vocals
and relies on a series of euphoric sounds to lull listeners into deep
relaxation, and the Presets prove why they are electro masters.