Mount Kimbie transformed Forum Melbourne into a surprisingly post-punk laboratory on 5 June.
The pioneering London duo showcased their evolution from chilltronica innovators to rocktronica architects, delivering tracks from The Sunset Violent with pitch-perfect precision.
Dominic Maker and Kai Campos commanded the stage with their expanded lineup, demonstrating how their decade-plus journey has refined their sound into something both familiar and entirely new. They were perhaps the most surprised of everyone in attendance – their constant exclamations at the size of the packed Forum’s audience, considering they hadn’t toured Australia in a decade – was a warming, personal touch throughout an otherwise distant, atmospheric performance.
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The performance highlighted Mount Kimbie’s mastery of texture and atmosphere – standing before the sound desk, you felt their instrumental mastery – they cared deeply about translating their records onto the live stage with aplomb.
Their fuzzed-out guitars cut through layers of electronic manipulation, creating the complex, multi-layered sound that has defined their latest era. The Forum’s intimate capacity allowed every nuance of their intricate compositions to resonate, from the ambient passages that recalled their field recording origins, to the driving post-punk rhythms that dominated the evening.
It was far from an exercise in nostalgia, either. Huge swathes of the crowd responded to different eras in the band’s oeuvre, with the final bros around us chanting to SP12 Beat one of the more interesting highlights of the night.
The crowd’s strongest response was to Marilyn – if there’s one song that will ultimately manage to define Mount Kimbie, our feeling is that it will be the melancholy refrains of Campos and Maker in this classic, the kind of song that sums up an entire wave of indie electronica.
The evening felt particularly significant given Mount Kimbie’s extended absence from Australian stages. Their return demonstrated how their sound has matured without losing the edge that first distinguished them from their contemporaries. Interestingly, they spoke about the muted response they received the last time they played in Melbourne – perhaps they were a more muted band back then.
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