VALLIS ALPS @ Jack Rabbit Slims
Saturday, April 1, 2017
With soul clasping vocals and stirring beats, Vallis Alps’ eclectically awesome sound made for a captivating performance at Jack Rabbit Slims on Saturday night.
Jack Rabbit Slims was abuzz, brimming with eager audience members emitting an aura that triggered a climb in my expectations for the evening. Through those vintage refrigerator entrance doors, the night soared to mesmerisingly feel-good heights, and David Ansari and Parissa Tosif of the Sydney based electronic music act can be held responsible for taking it there.
As Vallis Alps emerged from the darkness of intermission, a blanket of silent expectancy fell over the audience. Shoulder to shoulder we looked on as light, bass, and Tosif’s tender vocals ruptured the room and the sell out show kicked into gear.
A mere 24 hours prior to assuming the Jack Rabbits stage, the Sydney duo had dropped their second EP Fable. Of the four intense and colourful tracks on the EP, Serity and Run were the two brand newbies. The crowed were enthusiastic and embracing of the new tunes as they were clearly acquainted with the style.
Impressively for a group who ooze chilled-out vibes, there was no soggy middle to the show. To accommodate for the intimacy of the performance, however, I did feel that there could have been more interaction with the audience. Vallis Alps are an act that delivers the bare bones of moving and sonic tunes. The visual backdrops and lighting weren’t a consequential part of the show and the void emanating care of a lack of action coming from the stage did mean there needed to be a little more oomph from the performers themselves.
Fortunately for this audience, the taste of fresh success was a heavy presence and the energy was intoxicating. Throughout the show the duo appeared visibly euphoric and were vocal on their appreciation of their fans, as Tosif took a moment to express the two-year effort put into their latest work. The tour comes off the back of epic national success performing at numerous 2017 Falls Festivals across Australia and their ascending popularity on the Australian music scene. Throughout May they’ll take to America and return to home soil in July for Splendour In The Grass, only to then flit back overseas to London for the final venture of the Fable tour.
Saturday night’s performance ended with Fading, the electrifying track that cracked Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2016 as smartphones took to the air, a sure sign of approval from the present-day gig goers. Fading evoked feelings of Australian summertime as a choir of voices bellowed in unison, “this is paradise”.
SARAH DAY
