Glass Candy have developed a cult following due to their silky tunes and their hip status, but at the Oxford Art Factory their sound fell flat and they failed to deliver a live experience would be seen as original and exciting by the hipsters in the crowd.

Ida No and Jimmy Jewel of Glass Candy are visiting Australia for the first time as part of the V Festival. They are one of the less well-known bands on the line-up, from Portland, Oregon. Jimmy is the in-house producer of their label Italians Do It Better, and Ida is the charismatic young thing in front to whimper and croon to the audience.

Their sideshow at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory was well attended. Members of Cut Copy, the Lost Valentinos and Soft Tigers were keen to see an act that’s raised a significant profile over the internet. Their music is described as No Wave, a genre which mashes disco, punk and new wave together, and the disco riffs distinguish their sound from similar artists such as Muscles and Robyn.

It wasn’t difficult to pick out Karen when we arrived; she was an exotic creature getting down on the dancefloor. She exuded charisma, her limbs extended gracefully as she boogied, looking like a contemporary of Edie Sedgwick at a chic location in Manhattan. She and Jimmy eventually took to the stage with only a keyboard and microphone to perform songs off their latest album B/E/A/T/B/O/X and their first release, Love, Love, Love.

They opened with their tune Digital Versicolour, which needed plenty more bass to make up for the fact it is just the two on stage with a drum machine, keyboard and microphone. When you listen to their record the sparse, stripped-back disco/new wave tunes are atmospheric, haunting and sexy but on stage it was just too quiet and didn’t seem to fill the venue. The lyrics were even less audible than the recorded version, which didn’t really help anyone trying to decipher a greater meaning behind the song.

Ida has a pixie-toned American accent, which was heavily muffled in her microphone. When she tried to speak to the crowd, about it being their first time in Australia, or how much they appreciated the support, it was rather hard to understand, so no one out of earshot took much notice. People two rows back from the stage were talking over the music, more interested in their conversation than the live act they’d come to see.

The songs were stretched out, over and past breaks for dancing and applause. It was hard to work out when new songs started because of the synths, drums and sweet indistinguishable lyrics in them all. The similarities became far more apparent than the differences. Beatific Versions, their most distinguishable single, began with lots of energy and keyboard dancing, but halfway through it seemed to lose momentum and the tempo faltered. People who were dancing seemed to get a bit tired rather than uplifted on a wave of tunes, and faltered during the song.

The most impressing display of music ability was Ida rapping at the beginning of Miss Broadway, the finely tuned effects on the microphone and Jimmy being able to play his keyboard when it was balanced on its far edge, keys displayed to the audience. This demonstrated the virtuosity of his performance skills more than his keyboard playing, but was appreciated by the audience.

Jimmy was quite animated on stage, drinking whisky from the bottle and indulging in a bit of keyboard dancing. Ida is indeed quite a charismatic frontwoman, but it was difficult to understand her lyrics and the songs seemed a bit sparse to really be engaging. She worked hard to connect with the audience, directing questions to the kids in the front row. At one point about ten or so people jumping around in the front row were thrilled to pieces when they were invited to dance on stage, but once there they really didn’t do anything except take photos of themselves. Ida actually asked for a photo of herself and danced with guys she helped pull on stage. It’s always a bit awkward when the time comes for stage jumpers to leave, but they managed it well. The last song was announced, and they left the stage without any calls for an encore.

Glass Candy’s performance was hampered by sound issues, and the fact the tempo was less uplifting then similar acts such as Cut Copy or Muscles didn’t impress the Australian crowd. It bore the most resemblance to Robyn than any other act they have been compared to. On a good night with a great vibe, Ida and Jimmy could create a great experience for an audience. However, on this night in this venue, it just didn’t reach an experience to surpass other live acts.