Music promoters Nothing Ever Happens Here and Braw Gigs present an evening of eclectic and experimental music at the Dissection Room at Summerhall. Ducktails is the headliner but all three acts onstage tonight have their own distinctive style and approach to live performance.

Spencer Clark is one half of the band The Skaters. Typhonian Highlife is the name of his solo project and Clark opens up this evening by performing three diverse electronic pieces. Experimentation is very much part of his sound and also his look. Spencer Clark appears to be wearing a lab coat while he manipulates his keyboard to concoct a range of noises and soundscapes.

The Skaters are well presented this evening. James Ferraro is the other half of the duo, but like Typhonian Highlife performing before him, Ferraro is taking to the stage as a solo artist. He plays a short set that evokes a science fiction movie soundtrack. Unfortunately, he falls foul to the curse of the electronic musician who performs behind a laptop and keyboard. Visually this can be an unappealing sight and a large portion of the audience take to talking amongst themselves whilst Ferraro does his best to hold their attention.

Matthew Mondanile is a former member of New Jersey band Real Estate. Ducktails is his solo guise and his sound is not too dissimilar to the breezy, bright and thought-provoking music of his old band. Unlike the support, Mondanile performs with a guitar and vocals and the setup instantly endears itself to the audience. Ducktails is the sound of a musician looking to capture the free and easy sounds of summer. The vocals are subtle and understated and the guitars are jangly and brittle. Mondanile plays in front of a large screen on which images of urban and suburban America are projected. The photographs are void of people and the unoccupied architecture and sparse imagery adds to the fragility of the music that is being performed. Standout track Headbanging in the Mirror delights the audience and builds momentum to a satisfying conclusion to a short but enjoyable set. Mondanile is onstage for slightly over 45 minutes and only gives the crowd a taster of the Ducktails’ back catalogue.

Live music continues at Summerhall throughout the rest of the year. Promoters Braw Gigs and Nothing Ever Happens Here will collaborate again to bring more experimental underground music to Edinburgh with Six Organs of Admittance performing at the venue in June.