Peace Out! fitted in at the Worker’s Club just perfectly. Opening for Gosteleradio’s single launch, the Melbourne duo filled the former Rob Roy with their experimental ambient music while film clips of a lake swirled in the background. The band comprises of Daina Fanning and Milo Kossowski, who share duties on vocals, samples, synths, loop pedal and whatever other noises fulfil their fancies. I use the term vocals not singing – anything musical that went past their lips tended be heavily looped, and not resemble any word in the English language (although perhaps Icelandic, will have to check back on that).

The first few seconds of Gosteleradio’s set were completely and utterly surprising. Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a band by its appearance and support acts. Everyone knows that Tic Toc Tokyo is one of Melbourne’s finest experimental troupes, and Peace Out! weren’t your traditional fare. So when a bunch of scruffy looking lads hope onstage sandwiched in between two left-of-centre bands, I expected perhaps shoe gaze or experimental sounds. Instead, the crowd was greeted with the dulcet male harmonies. Their overall sound was far from either of the other two bands, falling more into a sluggish rock genre but more in the way of Radiohead rather than crappy Coldplay type of way. And while there were occasional glimpses of Bryan Adams seeping into their tracks, the majority of their songs had the same melancholic vibe from Radiohead’s OK Computer or The Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever. And the single-of-honour, Guillotine, followed suit. Piano heavy, pop rock, purposely flat vocals, delicate and absolutely bone chilling.

Anyone who is a regular FasterLouder Melbourne reader will already know Tic Toc Tokyo. They don’t really specialise in melodies and catchy hooks. Instead, this rhythm collective are known for their heady beats, interesting use of instruments and awesome patterned shirts. And while their clever use of the clarinet and trumpet may hark back memories of Ron Burgundy (but without any instruments being set on fire), it is nowhere near as pissy. The clarinet is hardly noticeable, but the trumpet sets them apart from band upon band of pretentious art experimental bands that seem to be overrunning Fitzroy these days. Nic Oogjes’s trumpet doesn’t result in a tune, or anything remotely hummable. Instead, they are like flurries of notes oozing out of the brass barrel, lending an unmistakable darker quality to their songs.

Perhaps a bit of an odd line-up choice until you realise that Tic Toc Tokyo and Gosteleradio share members, but at least all the CD singles were gone at the end of the night. That’s got to be a good thing.