Friday, November 4, 2011

Purity Ring at Old Blue Last



Canadian Electrowave duo Purity Ring popped into London for an evening gig at the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch last weekend. And after a short but intense set Megan James and Corey Roddick left the small but dedicated crowd wanting a bit more.

It was no surprise to see their set only consisted of a few tightly rehearsed tracks filled with Roddick's layered drum chops and James' lofty airy vocals. The band began releasing tracks about 9 months ago and since they've only debuted about 5 or 6. In their defense, when Pitchfork asked them why they have released so few tracks Roddick replied "...releasing a constant stream of music can cheapen the work. We want each song to linger with people."

Emphasis on perfectionism was pretty evident at the show. Sometimes electric music from new bands can get sloppy when bands are forced to come out of their basements and onto a live stage, but James and Roddick kept everything in line from the sharp synth riffs to the chopped up vocals.  But at shows like this I always find myself hoping they will let loose a bit, improvise. Especially when the set was over and all they could do was throw their hands up and say "That's all the songs we've got". I wanted to scream back...make something up! 

But despite the brevity, the set was intense enough to keep the listeners very interested and wanting more. Roddick's Quality over quantity mantra won out here.

Purity Ring- Ungirthed

Purity Ring- Lofticries
  


Keep checking back for new tracks from Purity Ring.