New York electronic duo the Golden Filter brought Gotham's thundering nightclub spirit to the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavík last night.

Taking to the NASA stage in the midst of an electro-disco marathon that sandwiched the group between Denmark's When Saints Go Machine and Sweden's the Field, the American contingent were both the most energetic and most engaging act of the evening.

Known primarily for their remix work for bands like Peter Bjorn and John, Cut Copy and Empire of the Sun, the Golden Filter took the opportunity to preview plenty of as-yet-unreleased material.

With Australia-bred lead singer Penelope cooing sensually over knob-twister Stephen's infectious symphonic rhythms, it sounded like the smooth disco stylings of Donna Summer updated for the 21st century set.

Augmented live by drummer Lisa, singles 'Solid Gold' and 'Thunderbird' took on an invigorated urgency which the Icelandic crowd responded to by collectively losing their heads, carelessly flailing into each other as Penelope shimmied and vogued under seizure-worthy strobe lights.

Though they've yet to release a full album, the group's maturity shone through in a set list selection that perfectly balanced the more groove-driven numbers with high-energy blasters so the evening never dragged and, as such, their performance never felt forced.

Due to the relative unfamiliarity of most of their music, the biggest audience reaction was reserved for the group's electro adaptation of the White Stripes single 'The Hardest Button to Button,' a b-side the band is set to release next month.

Brought out towards the end of the set, the throbbing stop-start chorus, sung with fist pumps by both audience and singer, set the bar far too high for the Swedish headliner that followed, leaving the Golden Filter as the night's gold standard.