The two young men that currently have the world of house music at their feet are playing in front of a huge dancing crowd at The Fillmore, and they aren’t what you’d expect. Disclosure, also known as Howard (21) and Guy (24) Lawrence, are brothers, Brits, and brimming with excitement. And here they are, set against red and blue, red and orange or purple and black trippy backgrounds, as partygoers get it on under the glitz of four gigantic chandeliers. But the light and color shows, similar to the ones that they had last summer in LA at the HARD Summer Music festival, is just one part of their set and identity.
Before the September release of their newest album, Caracal (only their second studio album), they faced the challenge of any young band that suddenly made it big. How do you keep the momentum going? And how do you top songs that an entire generation danced to, drank to, laughed to, partied to, such as “White Noise”, “Latch”, and “When A Fire Starts To Burn” from Settle? They attempt to answer this with a fresh album of tracks that include hot collaborations such as Sam Smith, Lorde, Gregory Porter, and The Weeknd. Caracal takes on a different tone, but it has reached critical and commercial success. New listeners and long-time fans will enjoy the new sounds and some more relaxed rhythms. “Holding On” and “Frontin’” have the possibilities of becoming new landmarks of theirs, while the music videos for “Omen” and “Magnets” have already become Internet sensations.
For all that it’s worth, the Disclosure boys seem to be handling their international stardom quite well. Casually wearing all black, they are standing on separate elevated circular pods, you are reminded why you like them so much. Their music and their sets, remain simple, classic, yet elevating. They’ve reached the high status, but are chilled with characteristics we recognize. They have the mysterious desire to remain private (also popular for a certain, ahem, French famous house music duo), a seemingly endless enthusiasm, and humble gratitude for just being there. Before closing the show with “Latch”, the two joke about how they’ll play some old songs, as they’ve already become “old”. Everyone in the crowd knows that it’s quite the contrary. They’re young, and this is just the beginning of their tour. The band seems to be ticking off all major hits along the way, not limited to their show in a few days at Madison Square Garden in New York. When it comes to Disclosure, their fire has just started to burn. And it ain’t out yet.
