Reviewed onThursday May 5 (photo by Ashley Mar)

Where to even begin. Hometown heroes RÜFÜS, fresh off playing Coachella and with a lighting rig worthy of the festival in tow (sitting like a halo above the crowd), tore up the Hordern Pavilion. It was night two at the venue for their national tour, the trio finally spruiking their superb album Bloom with a devoted audience ready to party and, most importantly, dance.

Each standing on a platform filled with their respective gear, the Sydney boys tinkered keys and built into a slinky intro to Bloom’s uplifting opener ‘Brighter’. In turn, they seamlessly flowed into Atlas’ equally metaphorical gem ‘Sundream’; the songs’ respective lyrics (“Make it brighter for me” and “I can feel that you want it”) a clever introduction to the set ahead.

Lead singer and guitarist Tyrone Lindqvist wasn’t going to be confined to one side of the stage, and he soon moved to the middle, crouching with his guitar and taking in the fans up close as they passionately sung ‘Say A Prayer For Me’ back to him.

More of Bloom followed as RÜFÜS explained it was only a year ago they were working on the album in Redfern. Bulbs illuminated above each of the boys and that halo lighting started to shine across the room as dance-heavy tracks ‘Daylight’ and ‘Be With You’ saw the room absolutely heave, bodies on shoulders from front to back. The combination of synths and streams of light that looked like sunshine breaking through clouds was a sensory delight. Understandably, a vast dance break ensued among the crowd, not that the audience hadn’t already been working up a sweat.

The indulgent ‘Innerbloom’, self-described by Lindqvist as a song that says “Hey! This is pretty hard to do, thank you so much!” marked the time for fans to peel off a layer and reciprocate with enthusiastic gratitude. The relatively downtempo, ten-minute track didn’t see anyone in the Hordern ease up, and when the band left the stage, there was a sure sense across the board that things weren’t over.

Rhetorically asking the crowd, “Why do one more when you can do two?” Lindqvist, keyboardist Jon George and drummer James Hunt returned for a killer finale. With a synth-filled, live spin on ‘Take Me’ and the somewhat keys- and drums-filled (and extended) ‘You Were Right’, RÜFÜS saw the evening out proudly, satisfying their grateful audience.

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