With irrepressible spirit and a devotion to celebration, Australian quartet
Confidence Man specialize in campy, addictive dance anthems indebted to forebears like
Deee-Lite and
Tom Tom Club, as well as early-2000s alt-disco acts like
Scissor Sisters,
Fischerspooner, and
CSS. Bursting onto the local scene in 2016, the band issued their breakthrough debut
Confident Music for Confident People in 2018. Taking inspiration from '90s dance music, they released sophomore set
Tilt in 2022.
Hailing from Melbourne, the Brisbane-based group was formed by members of indie/psych-rock bands
the Belligerents, Moses Gunn Collective, and
Jungle Giants. Siblings Janet Planet and
Sugar Bones handle the vocals, while Reggie Goodchild (synths) and Clarence McGuffie (percussion) remain in the shadows, under veils that protect their identities. With a wink and a strut,
Confidence Man made their debut in 2016 with the single "Boyfriend (Repeat)," which they modeled after
Brigitte Bardot's "Contact." After signing with Heavenly Recordings in 2017, they issued additional singles "Bubblegum" and "Better Sit Down Boy," which all appeared on their 2018 debut full-length,
Confident Music for Confident People (Heavenly/
PIAS). Influenced by
Talking Heads,
Fatboy Slim,
Groove Armada, and
LCD Soundsystem, the set also included "Don't You Know I'm in a Band." They followed with the holiday single "Santa's Comin' Down the Chimney" before closing out the decade with "Does It Make You Feel Good?"
Kicking off the 2020s,
Confidence Man issued the stand-alone single "First Class Bitch," which was expanded with a remix EP that included a take by veteran producers
Groove Armada. Their sophomore album era started in 2021 with the release of the atmospheric anthem "Holiday," which was followed by the house-indebted "Feels Like a Different Thing" and "Woman." All three tracks landed on 2022's
Tilt, a euphoric collection of dancefloor fillers. ~ Neil Z. Yeung