(As published for Bournemouth Daily Echo)

With an air of distinct cynicism surrounding debut album ‘& Then Boom’, Hollywood synth-rockers ‘Iglu & Hartly’ appeared to have a media mountain to scale. However, Wednesday’s capacity iBar crowd proved the quirky, fluorescent fivesome are evidently doing something right.

Bursting at the seams with fine-voiced Iglu enthusiasts of all ages, Bournemouth’s groundbreaking digital bar had once again managed to house an act whose following is far too large for their basement! Still, all this uncomfortably sweaty clashing of limbs, followed by an apology of vain and audibly crushed proportions just added to the pop-rocking, retro-raving intimacy of the whole evening.

Bass-less trio ‘For The Common’ (‘Razorlight’s take on ‘The Fray’ but with even less personality), along with ‘Rogues’ – looking like "Pete graces Dirty Pretty Things"; sounding like "Bowie and the Arctic Monkeys do a reverberated Human League" – warmed the audience. But only when a semi-naked headline act battled its way through a fervent mob to the stage did the fun truly commence.

A slurry of driving dance-rock aural concoctions ensued, punctuated with stabs of 80’s synth pop, walking bass, and drizzled with attempted white raps reminiscent of a "Sinex-lacking Eminem". Some may find this annoying.

Despite a guaranteed Marmite-esque opinion of the I&H vibe, you couldn’t fault the enthusiasm on offer. Not once did the new Millennium’s answer to the Beastie Boys allow onlookers to cease enjoyment, with plenty of participation encouraged throughout opener "Violent And Young", get-up-and-go anthem "Jump Out Of Your Car", and of course UK Top 5 smash "In This City".

‘Iglu & Hartly’ is the undeniable "good-time" force that won’t stop until it’s conquered this side of the Atlantic. And with a shirtless party attitude, plenty of crowd-pleasing antics, and a song about pyjamas, things look set for the succumbing of a nation to a new breed of 80’s revival, synth-rock-rap union (yet, whether or not you just clear the fusion sludge from your ears, and regain a sense of proportion via ‘Rage Against The Machine’ on repeat is up to you).

Adam Scholey