Dirty Vegas

I’m not sure exactly what it is about Las Vegas that encourages bands who don’t hail from there to name themselves after the city, but like Glasvegas and Death in Vegas, London house trio Dirty Vegas are well-removed from the famous town - both geographically and sonically. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine the group’s blend of electronica and straight-up house sounds being once that you’d readily associate with Las Vegas itself, but that hasn’t stopped them from meeting with a successful reception on both sides of the Atlantic; their biggest hit to date, ‘Days Go By’, charted at number fourteen in the U.S. and sixteen here in the UK. After a brief, three-year lay off between 2005 and 2006, the band are now very much a going concern again, with their third album, Electric Love, being well-reviewed back in 2011. They’ve been playing shows since then, too, touring both the States and their native Britain with shows that rely on a surprising amount of live instrumentation; the basic stage setup is not far removed from that of a standard rock band, with live drums, keyboards, guitars and vocals, but their sound remains one that is rooted in dance music; it’s a fascinating contradiction, and an enthralling spectacle to boot.