CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE.

Aleks and the Ramps’ live show has always stood out on account of their lovingly homespun extravagance: whether it be the matching basketball uniforms of their earlier shows, the DIY-disco flashiness of their current outfits, or the unexpected but certainly welcomed dance routines that they pepper throughout their sets.

So it’s hardly surprising that for the launch of their sophomore record Midnight Believer, they upped the ante. The band brought an exotic, globetrotting line-up of artists as support – all of them playing for the first time in Sydney.

First up was Miniature Submarines, a relatively new duo from Melbourne. Built around a core of The Stabs’ Mark Nelson and Love of Diagrams’ Monika Fikerle, they took on two additional players for a set that leaned to the harsher side of indie rock. It recalled the grittier indie of the nineties, with that unmistakeable Melbourne swagger that has characterised many Victorian bands since the days of The Birthday Party. While they don’t reinvent any wheels, the quality of the material suggests that once they begin to play it a little less safely, they could be a very exciting prospect.

Despite being the night’s headliners, Aleks and the Ramps came onstage early to play back-up duties for the next act, Mixylodian. Hailing from Canada, Mixylodian took Aleks & The Ramps on tour throughout his country last year, and this tour saw the favour returned. Playing some synth-driven, disco-influenced indie pop, Mixylodian’s sound was significantly influenced by having the Ramps as his backing band; with his songs taking on a similarly ramshackle tone. The end result felt like a hybrid of the two artists, with his songs feeling looser and less polished, in favour of the Ramps’ vitality.

Main support came from Norway’s Je Suis Animal, who charmed everyone with the type of dream pop that seems to thrive in Scandinavia. Their tight, shoegaze-y set invoked bands such as Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine. They brought diversity to a night that was otherwise quite loose and jangly. Indulging the crowd in plenty of pop perfection, they often threatened to upstage the headliners, and earned themselves a swag of new fans in the process.

Aleks and the Ramps shuffled onstage and launched straight into Destroy The Universe With Jazz Hands, the opener to their new record Midnight Believer. With all members clad in shiny outfits and tour-mate Mixylodian on keys, their main set consisted of that album played from start to finish. A record full of unique textures, transforming songs and big hooks, it lost a bit of its diversity live, but certainly made up for it with the Ramps’ joyous live show.

The set’s highlight came late in the set with Whiplash, a track that began as a twisted electro-pop jam with dance routines, before slowly evolving into one of the group’s immensely satisfying freakouts. Closing the set with single Antique Limb (perhaps their finest track to date), they weren’t offstage for long. The band soon returned to end the show with Aminals, from their debut album Pisces vs. Aquarius.

While it may not have reached the heights of their previous tour (playing the record in order seemed to detract a little from their spontaneity, and they played to a less-enthused audience this time around), it was certainly a wonderful launch for one of the most compelling records to come from Australia this year.