Half an hour after the scheduled start time, the punters packed into Troxy’s stalls are growing increasingly restless, their appetite for a boogie still unsatisfied. , the electronic duo who met as students at Goldsmiths and formed in 2022, are somewhat notorious for their less-than-punctual approach to live performances.

When the pair finally take to the stage, just after the clock strikes twelve, the delay has left me feeling rather like a Roman emperor awaiting a spectacle. After thirty minutes packed in like a sardine, my inner monologue booms with a single command: “Entertain us.” The air hangs thick with laser-lit smoke as the opening notes of “God I Wonder” ring out from the speakers.

The performance that follows is highly reminiscent of the sort of thing Crystal Castles were doing more than a decade ago. Producer and DJ stands moodily behind the decks as a janky assortment of pulsating, sometimes ethereal beats pour out of the speakers, while Polish vocalist hops from one foot to the other, belting out lyrics into an Auto-Tuned microphone. During one interlude, she tells the crowd about the full-circle moment this show represents for her, having once worked behind the bar here as a student.

While it’s far from the most dynamic performance I’ve ever witnessed, it’s clear the pair have spent the past five years steadily cultivating an intensely loyal cult following. Throughout the sold-out homecoming show, their fans go absolutely bananas: jumping up and down, moshing and ecstatically screaming Maria’s lyrics back at her bar for bar.

Given their late arrival, I have to commend the sheer audacity of coming back out for not one, but two encores. The first sees them joined by (a name that sounds like it was dreamt up at a particularly eventful festival) who, armed with a guitar and harmonica, gives ‘Year of the Dragon’ the full Bob Dylan treatment. Props to them for catching everyone off guard with that one. Even with the night officially billed as “Bassvictim & Friends”, I can’t say I expected folk to be on the menu.

So what was the verdict? Well, there were moments when I felt my thumb edging upwards, but on the whole it stayed firmly in the middle. A fun show, but one that began to feel repetitive significantly before its conclusion.

Overall, I’m glad to have seen them, though their live show still has some way to go before it matches the energy and inventiveness of their records. Still, with a cult following as devoted as theirs, it’s clear they’ll have plenty of company along the way.