[Live Review] PURITY RING

Purity Ring - credit Joe Andersons - 13

Sydney Opera House
Tuesday February 9, 2016 :

The excitement in the air is palpable; the chatter rising over the top of the grandiose background music, all the way up to the furthest reaches of the highest stalls in the Sydney Opera House Concert stalls.

Tonight marks one of the first alternative music events for 2016 coming to the Sydney Opera House, celebrating a diverse range of rock, pop and electronic music in a classical setting.  We are here to see non-other than future-pop fusion two-piece Purity Ring, hailing from Canada, in Australia for Saint Jerome’s Laneway Tour, with a couple of sideshows thrown in for extra measure.

The duo have established themselves firmly in the electronic scene as movers and shakers showcasing futuristic sounds since their debut album Shrines in 2012.  Their follow up album Another Eternity (2015) was met with open arms from fans and critics alike, and I was suspecting a good night was in store seeing this new(ish) material performed in the flesh.

As the concert hall grows dark, Purity Ring kicks off with a bang, like a refreshing slap in the face by the summer ocean on a hangover.  The deep and heavy beats and dubstep like basslines threaten to overpower the vocals of Megan James, who I must add, looks resplendent in all white.

Commencing with two songs from Another Eternity which my ears haven’t had the pleasure of listening too before this point, I find myself completely mesmerised by the powerful vocals combined with the backdrop of cascading fairy lights, and synthy happy beats.

Only three songs into the set and we are treated to one of their stand-out songs ‘Obedear’ which launched Purity Ring onto the electronic scene.  Megan’s haunting vocals and the twinkling bassline create some magic that has the still-seated audience bobbing along enthusiastically.

Sticking to the material that made them so popular in 2012, the duo really warms up the sold-out crowd with stirring renditions of ‘Loftycries’, ‘Belispeaks’ and ‘Crawlersout’.  Holding the impressively sized stage well, and making the most of their simple, but fantasy-inducing set up, they launch into the newer album material kicking off with ‘Bodyache’.  More pop than the futuristic sound of the first album, it is still impressive, and wonderfully catchy.

Finally the moment I have been looking forward too, prompted my Megan, the crowd gets off their seats and onto their feet.  The difference in atmosphere is immediately felt, taking it up a notch from magical to absolutely electric.

The beat of ‘Flood on the Floor’ has the audience swaying suggestively, before building up to the heavy break of the throbbing bassline, received with some pretty serious dancing and cheers.  Shrouded in darkness and a purple, smoky haze, ‘Fineshrine’ seems other-wordly and alien, inducing transportation to a galaxy far, far away from Circular Quay on a Wednesday night.

The night seems over too soon with ‘Begin Again’, from their 2015 album to finish it all off.  The appreciative audience gives the Edmonton band a typically daggy Australian clap and sing along to celebrate the final song.  Reflecting on the classy and captivating performance deserving of the Opera House stage, I look forward to seeing what these two come up with next.

Reviewer: Stephanie de Vries
Photographer: Joe Andersons

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