It’s funny to think that fans have been waiting a solid four years for the debut Miami Horror record to emerge. In an age when listeners want – and let’s face it expect – their music to be delivered as immediately and instantaneously as possible it almost doesn’t make sense to leave it so long. And in some cases it’s also a surprise, because it’s not like Miami Horror haven’t had enough material with the group’s mastermind Ben Plant working endlessly on a galaxy of tunes that we’ll never hear. But although we undoubtedly could’ve had multiple Miami Horror discs out already, it was the right move for Miami Horror to take the time to get this right.

Beginning life as just Ben in his synth-scattered bedroom, Miami Horror was in the vanguard of Australian electro as the scene shot up in 2006/2007, slamming out terrific tunes and even bigger remixes that spread right across the blogosphere. But just as fellow dance acts like Cut Copy and Midnight Juggernauts grew out of that scene, so have Miami Horror, mutating from a one-man show into a fully blown band that’s been showing up over the country at festivals and on tour. And despite what electro purists stuck on MySpace might think, it’s good that they did evolve from that sound, pushing beyond an already static moment in time and onto something richer, more ambitious and lasting.

And so we arrive at Illumination, the result of four years hard work and a pretty thrilling debut record to boot. The most immediate thing that fans will notice is that Miami Horror is indeed a band now. Unlike the 2008 Bravado EP, which was seemingly the swan song of Ben Plant’s straight solo productions under the Miami Horror moniker, Illumination is fleshed out and it just sounds fuller than anything they’ve done before.

The first cuts to have dribbled out from the record, big singles Sometimes and Moon Theory, have been telling previews of the record as a whole, with the band testing the boundaries of ‘electro’ with lush arrangements and, on Moon Theory, a blend of acoustic and electric guitars.

That experimentation continues throughout the record, as Miami Horror add some full-band gloss to tracks like Summersun with its wiry festival-ready vibe and the gorgeous opener Infinite Canyons, which bristles in slow-motion like a futuristic chillwave anthem.

That’s not to say that Miami Horror have foregone their dance roots though. Even if they’re now rocking guitars the band just can’t seem but make some incessantly danceable tracks. Take for instance upcoming single I Look To You with its cooing guest vocals from Melbourne’s Kimbra, cut up horns and looping bassline, it’s a disco house cut that French-touch icons would kill to have in their catalogue. Likewise with guaranteed summer smash Holidays which cruises by on some disco guitar lines and a monster chorus delivered by Neon Indian bro Alan Palomo.

Perhaps it’s the presence of Palomo rubbing off on the band, but elsewhere Illumination veers off into the fuzzy depths of electronic psychedelica with tracks like Soft Light and the head-nodding instrumental interlude Illuminated radiating with the hazy vibes of an old vinyl pressed to a well-worn needle.

If you’re counting at home then that’s likely a head-spinning amount of styles and moods that Miami Horror jump through over Illumination’s course and that’s not even mentioning some other standouts like soft-pop gem Imagination and roaring album bookend Ultraviolet. Thankfully, all of it works. Miami Horror refuse to sit still, packing the record out with all the bells, whistles and creative whims that come to them and Illumination is that much more of an exciting and entertaining listen for it.

Miami Horror’s Illumination is out through EMI Music on August 20th.

Illumination tracklisting:

1. Infinite Canyons
2. I Look to You
3. Holidays
4. Summersun
5. Sometimes
6. Moon Theory
7. Echoplex
8. Imagination (I Want You To Know)
9. Grand Illusion
10. Soft Light
11. Illuminated
12. Ultraviolet