Since they high-kicked into view with their 2018 breakthrough album, Confidence Man have won hearts and lost minds around the world with their arch pop-dance confections and cute choreo – but, like, in a hot way. On 3AM (LA LA LA), Janet Planet, her floppy-haired foil Sugar Bones and instrumentalists Clarence McGuffie and Reggie Goodchild are delving deeper into UK rave sounds of the 90s and 2000s, from trippy acid techno and trance to breakbeat and big beat. It’s darker, sexier and more surreal.
While Confidence Man aren’t planning to set fire to any hard-earned cash anytime soon, their new album is definitely full of unexpected twists. A seamless, high-energy mix, 3AM (LA LA LA) blends together an even more varied grab-bag of genres from the 90s and 2000s, masterminded by producer Goodchild. It makes sense that Confidence Man drew on the likes of Groove Armada, Prodigy, Leftfield and Underworld, says Bones, because “all those classic UK rave acts have always been popular in Australia. Prodigy were my fave band growing up when I was in my early teens.” And yet their take on it all is, in typical Confidence Man style, filtered through their own warped lens. “We didn’t know any of the rules,” says Bones. “These sounds make their way into your scene but then everyone repurposes them because no one understands the context,” continues Planet. “No one had ever been to a warehouse rave where we’re from.”
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