Purity Ring give robotic performance
The Canadian duo played the Roundhouse
The electronic duo from Edmonton, Alberta played their second London gig this year, touring their album another eternity – note the lack of caps, every track on the album is similarly stylised – the first being at Shepherd’s Bush in April.
Roundhouse proved to be a venue too big for this band, as tickets failed to sell out despite prices being on the more affordable end for London at £20. A cosier venue would have been better suited to their performance.
The stage set-up was impressive, as it will be on the rest of the tour; lights draped from above, creating patterns which changed in time with the music. Custom drum pads created the illusion of live music, but in reality we got nothing of the sort.
Megan James’ vocals were unfaltering, almost robotically so. It’s possible autotune was used for the whole set. I had expected some extended instrumental sections to be used as interludes, before building up to climaxes. Instead we were only given replays of album tracks, one after another; a wall of sound with no dynamics.
