Matthew Dear’s Big Hands

Taking over grumpily from the plate of assorted jazz-flavoured cheeses that is Kalabrese’s Rumpelorchestra, who offered the audience an encore just as Dear walked onstage tostart his set, the rock-star-looking-and-acting Dear finally got his chance to show off the new band of laptop, vocal and more-than-capable bassist and drummer. It was well produced but directionless — is structure or a hook really that much to ask if you’re going to be singing? Also, it was hard not to think that the vocalist, bassist and drummer are all a bit superfluous to what Dear actually does well, which is make computer music — certainly his set felt more like the "real thing.”