Live, The Presets’ Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton (both formerly of Prop) blend retro turbulence between twisted synths and rowdy drums. Nothing short of the real time encounter, the band ignites a revival with fur and fangs mighty enough to bang a gong on Beams, a ticking follow-up to the EPs Girl And The Sea (2004) and Blow Up (2003). More world-class than half-ass foolhardiness, the record re-contextualizes the fervor of the ’80s and unearths the brilliancy of a duo off-kilter in all the right ways.
Beams marches as a mod squad bent on jungle mate innuendos on “Are You the One,” while “Girl And The Sea” retreats somberly. “I Go Hard, I Go Home” is a collision that gracefully stutters, cornering your pulse into murmur mode with Julian’s resonating vocal distortions. The album flashes its feathers, stirring un-mistakenly to be shaken until “Beams,” which offers its speculative toned instrumentation like the back-and-forth of an antique clock.
Without becoming too retro for its own good, Beams harbors its electro-pop in the vein of friendly schizophrenia meets post-adolescent anxiousness. Besides being the ideal “make-out” soundtrack to the keg party nearest you, the record also reaches sophisticated electro-scapes, wildly collecting dance partners amidst a fever that has yet to break.
