written by Chris Familton
Guerre set the scene for night that was high on artful ventures into electronica, pop and indie music. His approach consisted of electronic samples and backing tracks and some astounding vocals all woven together with a healthy dose of reverb and delay. Guerre didn’t seem phased by a sparse early crowd, instead he seemed to be reveling in the performance. He patiently layered stately R&B vocals with a loop pedal – building a ghostly wall of choral harmonies that sound like they were soundtracking a 22nd Century nightclub in space. Truly impressive stuff.
Pluto Jonze took the standard set by Guerre and added a wonderful pop sheen to songs that were for the most part upbeat and full of energy. Jonze even tackled a cover of Sting’s Fields of Gold, beyond all expectations transforming it into a tumbling rush of percussion and melody. He has a voice made for catchy hooks and showed his range from the slowburn electro sounds of single Meet You Under Neon to more frenetic pop sounds.
The Paper Scissors have been hard at work fine-tuning their new album In Loving Memory and Friday signaled its official launch. The attention to detail has resulted in an album brimming with edgy rhythms, pop melodies aplenty and in singer Jai Pyne a unique voice that gives the band it’s individual sound. It was great to see bands paying attention to the visual aesthetic of their live shows with Pluto Jonze syncing video across old TV sets and The Paper Scissors displaying three giant orbs comprised of coloured balloons. The new album naturally made up the bulk of their set and hearing it live it was the drumming of Ivan Lisyak that impressed most. He was the busiest of the trio adding jerky, intricate hi-hat twitches one moment and then launching into rapid-fire fills and drum patterns the next. It enhanced the songs’ dimensionality and impact to great effect. The album opener Disco Connect set the mood as a set opener, the single Lung Sum sounded as gloriously anthemic as it does on radio, Soft Pig was both grandiose and detailed while Over There was as good as anything Phoenix have done in a similar vein. The new album should take The Paper Scissors to another level, especially with its songs sounding this good live.
this review was first published in The Drum Media (Sydney)
Doubtful Sounds 