Mojo’s Bar
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Voltaire Twins played their final gig in Perth for a while at Mojo’s Bar in Fremantle on Saturday night. In an evening of space-psychedelia and synth/sample heavy pop, Voltaire Twins shone in what was clearly an emotional gig for them. Throughout the evening they danced and weaved, creating a weird and wonderful paradise through tribal percussion and intense vocals.
The band opened their set with Solaris, an upbeat pop number from their recent EP, Apollo. Solaris is a track that encapsulates the sound of this band: their penchant for ooo sounds, their love of all things space orientated, and their heavy synth backing. The set continued in this vein for most of the evening, never really slowing down or taking a detour. Highlights included Young Adult, which sparked interest with its quirky syncopated melodies and slightly slower tempo, and the highly creepy Anamalia, which delved into bizarre world of taxidermy.
Voltaire Twins are a band who clearly know their set and have performed each song numerous times. They are a band that has found its sound and knows how work that sound with few major issues. What would be good to hear, however, would be a little more variation on this signature style – throughout their set on Saturday one song drifted into another without a great deal of rise and fall in energy. By changing it up a little more and including a few songs at different tempos or with different moods, Voltaire Twins would reach that next level of performance, moving away from their current level of solid pop outfit to something very special.
Supporting were an eclectic assortment of the weird and wonderful. Former Joe Kings Jack Stirling kicked off, with a strange combination powerful vocals, clever guitar, and pre-recorded drum tracks. SEAMS seemed to be having an unusually off-night; the local quartet is known for its solid indie dream pop, however their early material lacked a bit of their usual spark. This improved towards the end of the set, with guitarist Lyndon Blue leading the band through a couple of up-beat tracks to finish up, in a blaze of retro-inspired space psychedelia. Electronic darling Leure had a rough night with some sound issues however pulled together a brooding set of heavy bass and ethereal vocals, managing quite successfully not to sound like Enya (which is always a triumph in this style of music).
Voltaire Twins now make their way across to the Eastern States, to spend some time making it big in Melbourne. They also sadly lose their regular drummer Matt Gio, whose solid, creative work with the skins gave the band a really innovative sound. We wish them every success and hope that they’ll grace our shores sometime soon for a welcome home tour steeped in their signature space-pop haze.
