Superorganism @ CCA, Glasgow, 11 Mar

“We are Pi Ja Ma; we are very nice and smell good”, frontwoman Pauline de Tarragon declares to the crowd as she and guitarist Axel Concato climb the stage of the Centre for Contemporary Arts. The pair are infectiously, effortlessly affable – and their music follows suit. A lush throwback to 60s pop, the French duo’s songs are balmy breezes of reverb-drenched guitar and acrobatic vocal melodies. The exception is Radio Girl, an off-kilter anthem with a killer guitar solo that has everyone in the room dancing. Pi Ja Ma make for a somewhat low-key start to the evening, but they leave the crowd begging for more.

Superorganism, on the other hand, are pop maximalists. From start to finish, their set is an unfiltered sensory overload. It makes sense, given the daunting title of ‘The Future of Music’ that so many blogs have unfairly thrust upon them; to be fair, they initially bonded of a mutual love of memes – that’s 2018 as fuck. Dressed in an assortment of colourful PVC raincoats, the octet come onstage chanting “it’s all good” – from the album-opening track of the same name – a phrase that may as well be the band’s modus operandi. They radiate a happy-go-lucky attitude that is contagious.

You’d be forgiven for thinking Superorganism appeared out of nowhere – hell, they sort of have, as it was only at the beginning of last year that they formed. To go from that to releasing a full-length album and venturing out on a worldwide tour in twelve months brings to mind the assembly line pop of The X Factor. In that regard, it’s unsurprising that their debut album can feel more like a snack than a full meal. In a live environment though, the sheer audio-visual glut of the experience compensates for the album’s shortcomings – to the point where revisiting it is a decidedly anaemic affair.

Lead singer Orono Noguchi is only barely eighteen – if you can believe that – yet she carries the evening with the presence of a veteran performer. Donning 3D glasses (the cardboard type that were everywhere ten years ago), she springs about the stage with the energy of a tween on a sugar high. Her apathetic vocals are sometimes buried in the barrage of instrumentation, but her charisma shines through. Whether calling out band mates for dabbing or handing over her stereoscopic specs to the loudest singer in the room, she’s a delight.

Though Noguchi is undoubtedly the star of the band, at the CCA they affirm themselves as a true collective. Evoking the synergy of an Arcade Fire gig, every member of the eight-piece feels essential. Save for tambourines, backing singers-slash-dancers Ruby, B and Soul don’t even play instruments during the set, yet you’d be hard-pressed to find a pair of eyes that aren’t fixated on them as they romp about the stage. The trio’s choreographed dancing during closer Everybody Wants To Be Famous is charming in its imprecision, bringing to mind the DIY aesthetic of the group’s music videos. Seriously, more bands should have backup dancers.

As if there was any doubt, the band re-emerge for an encore to perform their breakthrough hit Something For Your M.I.N.D., of which Noguchi spends most of the song trying to down a bottle of sugar-free Irn-Bru (she’d meant to bring out the regular stuff, she assures a hissing crowd). She manages to get through the Bru before the song is over, barely, though for a moment seemingly forgets she’s in the middle of a performance. Messing up the lyrics and blurting out a ‘Fuck!’, Noguchi (perhaps wisely) asks the audience to sing along with her. They’re happy to cooperate.

Superorganism’s unfiltered enthusiasm is an utter joy to behold. They blaze with the unrestrained, often messy, fire of a band clearly on their first tour. At its best though, the evening is a vibrant reminder of what live music can and should be. The eight-piece have made their name as a retrofuturistic band (in this case, ‘retro’ referring to the halcyon days of ‘00s pop), and more than anything else their set harkens back to a time when music – whether playing or watching it – was just fun. Our world might be bleak right now, but our music sure as fuck doesn’t have to be.