Gig review: Rizzle Kicks, Edinburgh

IT WAS fitting, somehow, to see young Brightonian duo Rizzle Kicks in the midst of one of Edinburgh’s most popular student venues, being witnessed by a young and hedonistic crowd who possibly had nothing better to do but sleep off their hangovers come Friday morning.

Rizzle Kicks

Rizzle Kicks - Potterrow, Edinburgh

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Resolutely party-hard and somewhat superficial in places, the pair drag together a bunch of influences in magpie-like and effortlessly lively style.

Surrounded in the darkness of the wings by a full band, including a blaring and authentically soulful horn section, the Kicks – Jordan “Rizzle” Stephens and Harley “Sylvester” Alexander-Sule – were very much a visual focus. Wearing skinny T-shirts which were most likely the most practical choice in this steaming room, they each had a podium at the front of the stage to assist with dancing furiously in full view of the crowd.

Never letting up for a minute, they cycled through the old-school, horn-heavy soul of Jam Yourself, the swaggering hip-hop of Stop With the Chatter and the easy reggae of When I Was a Youngster – the latter one of their most thoughtful tracks, despite the conflict inherent in 22-year-olds discussing their sense of nostalgia.

There was also a boisterous cover of Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty, while the main set and the encore were bridged by Mama Do the Hump and Put Your Two’s Up, both tracks originally produced by fellow Brightonian Fatboy Slim and containing a youthful dilution of his enduring clubby eclecticism. Boundaries remained unbroken, but a good time was had all round.

Seen on 13.02.14