Woe are the festival artists strapped with set times overlapping legends. Fifteen minutes into Purity Ring’s set, Depeche Mode’s constant throb bled into the Halifax-Montreal duo’s synth-pop.
Nestled among three dozen hanging pods – larger versions of the opaque lights on production guru Corin Roddick’s “instrument” – singer Megan James seemed largely unaffected by Depeche Mode’s audio intrusion. The crowd could hear it loud and clear, however.
Roddick managed to obscure Dave Gahan’s wailing with the teeth-chattering bass rumbles of “Lofticries,” while the electronic churn allowed for James’ thin soprano to emerge. “Obedear,” in its eerie minor-key urgency, roped the hanging pods into the performance, lighting up purple and white in correspondence to Roddick’s strikes on his tree-shaped instrument. In a shot to the noise bleed, perhaps, James prompted the crowd.
“I wish it would get a little louder!”
She was met with wild cheers before launching into an unlikely and highly stylized cover of Soulja Boy’s “Grammy.” Unfortunately, that pesky Gahan’s unmistakable vocals ruined the nearly a capella bits of “Shuck,” one of the only times Roddick’s masterful but overpowering production was scaled back.
Regardless, fans were treated to danceable singles “Ungirthed” and “Fineshrine” in the last 10 minutes, which staved off the crush of Depeche Mode’s British New Wave. Purity Ring may not have the stadium-sized sound (or set time) yet, but they’re off to an excellent start.
For more ACL Fest coverage, see austinchronicle.com/acl. For photo galleries from the fest, see austinchronicle.com/photos.
This article appears in October 4 • 2013.