Broadcast, Pikelet, Seekae@The HiFi Bar, Melbourne(09/12/2010)

Wed 15th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

First support act Seekae open to a small, docile gathering, but this seems to suit them perfectly. With punters spread out in a circle, sitting relaxed upon the floor, Seekae’s blend of ambient electronica washes out across the room. The synth heavy three piece isn’t much to look at, until one of them takes to a drum kit bringing a visual intensity and texture lacking from tracks without it. The drums liberate the sound, stopping the loops from becoming monotonous, and at their best, the band emulate the ethereal electronic dreamscapes presented by acts such as Boards of Canada. Interestingly the most disappointing track is a remix of Sydney act Megastick Fanfare’s June Stranglets, which not only completely obscures the original, rendering it unrecognisable, but lacks the lush depth of the band’s own originals, putting out the rather basic bleeps and bloops of every second electronic artist.

Second act Pikelet has moved away from her roots as a loop machine solo artist, with the addition of a band. This is a good move, introducing a level of dynamism on stage between the cohorts as well as a musical progression unachievable with loops. It also helps to pull her out of the potential rut of being seen as a gimmick act. The band play a strange mix of glockespiel pop, psychedelia and folk and while in the best moments, this can remind of the experimental free form approach of CAN, too often something seems not to gel. The major issue is that Pikelet’s vocals are unable to keep up with the rapidly shifting soundscapes, coming off as forced or flat. Props must go to the bass player though, who manages to establish a solid groove throughout.

It isn’t until Broadcast begin to set up that the venue really begins to fill up. The bands current show is divided into a three act structure with the first, Winter Sun Wavelengths, involving an introduction of minimalist, instrumental experimentation done to a short film by visual artist and recent collaborator The Focus Group, in which James Cargill plays with various elements of a Korg whilst Trish Keenan experiments with her voice and a loop box. Whilst the audience does seem enthralled for the most part, this first section does seem to go on a tad too long and it is with relief as much as praise that they receive the second act, which is an exploration of the pop song.

Opening with Cargill’s hypnotic bassline, on Corporeal, the lush psychedelic electronica is like standing under a waterfall. Broadcast recall the visual experimentations of the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol, with Keenan standing in front of a projector, kaleidoscopic imagery shifting and washing over her body as she lithely plays with shadow and form. Meanwhile, her vocals shift between tones and qualities that recall equally Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane and Nina Persson of The Cardigans, delivering lyrics that touch upon Edgar Allen Poe during In Here The World Begins, and Lewis Carroll in Black Cat. She excels at using simple repetitions of lines to strike both words and images into the mind, “The Black Cat, The Black Cat, Curiouser and Curiouser.” Cargill does more than his part too, giving back bone to Keenans lyrics, jumping between synths, keys, guitar and bass, changing the tempo up for Lunch Hour Pops with a lopping danceable twang.

The set closes out by moving into the third and final act, “_A Dream Ritual_,” in which Keenan takes up what looks like a loot and the visuals become ever more chaotic and hypnotic. After the house lights have been brought back up, with the crowd still crying out for more, Keenan returns to stage explaining that they weren’t expecting to be asked for an encore so haven’t practiced anything. She proceeds to perform an acapella version of You and Me in Time which captures the simple power of her vocals even in lieu of a musical backing, before exiting the stage one last time.