Tonight sees the partnering of two ladies of the indie-electro singer-songwriter trend, Pikelet and Bachelorette. These women are amongst the finest examples of their kind, providing emotive vocals blended with electro beats and the odd acoustic instrument. Double-billed at one of the premier music venues in Melbourne, The Toff in Town, the room is packed and buzzing with all manner of hip indie children.

New Zealand’s Bachelorette is first on-stage, accompanied by her trusty 90s-style chunky PCs, which she faces towards the crowd. The programmed drums start and projections of audiometers throw spooky lines onto her face, mirrored on the PC screens. The room is lit entirely by these computers and the projection, which makes you think of late nights in front of facebook and youtube (hey, we’ve all been there). The effect is lonely and calm and soothing.

Bachelorette’s voice has a tunnelesque sound to it, filtered to echo in a crooning, wistful and melancholy spookiness. Sometimes her voice is replicated in a mystical choir, coupled with electronic beeps and bleeps, hypnotising and wrapping you in sensual folds of simulated melody. The audiograph projections take on a weird sort of topography, plotting the peaks and valleys of a song, a journey taken by the ear. The crowd is hushed as they luxurate in this strange experience, huddled and silent amid twinkling fairy lights, only occasionally disturbed by the clink of a bottle or whisper.

She’s also quite a funny woman, and makes jokes about the New Zealander accent aplenty (‘deckhand,’ is ‘dickhead’). The set ends with ‘The End of Things, a kind of electronic lullaby, accompanied with looped images of sky and trees.

Pikelet is in full band set-up today. With an array of xylophones, children’s percussion toys and electronic wizardry, the sound issuing forth from the theatrette is certainly unique. Heading up the ensemble is Melbourne-based Evelyn Morris, also known as the drummer in local hard-core act Baseball. Tonight though, she leave behind the sticks and indulges her indie chick side.

The best way to describe Pikelet’s sound is ‘quirky and charming.’ Sweetly spoke/sung vocals plink and plop over maracas, clarinet and keys. There’s a little something of the I Heart Hiroshima approach to controlled chaos, and undertones of child-like playtime in their sound. The result is a becoming and uniquely Melbourne sound – indie and experimental, playful yet edgy. Despite the apparent insanity of blending recorders with electric guitar, it just works.

Added to this melange is cutesy lyrics, like on Weakest Link, ‘have you ever felt like the fattest pig in a small line of cute piglets’. Then there’s a change of pace: to add a little spice to proceedings, the music occasionally dips into something a little dark, like the soundtrack to a nightmarish fantasy. Something slightly Tim Burton-ish. The vibe is art-school oddity, and whilst a little serious at times, the band succeed in keeping us entertained and surprised. It’s just the thing to take our minds off Sunday night depression. Bravo, ladies!