Gig Review: Cut Copy.

CUT COPY

5 MAY 2011

PALACE THEATRE

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Cut Copy brought their shimmering white-light disco stylings back home to Melbourne on a beautiful and crisp Thursday evening at the stately Palace Theatre in the CBD, and my wife and I were there to breathe in the intoxicating fumes of one of the more reliably consistent live acts I've had the pleasure of seeing multiple times. But this was the first time I've seen them as a quartet as opposed to a trio, and funnily enough my wife C. and I were standing next to a nice looking couple near the mixing booth at the beginning of the show (we'd missed, sadly, the opening band, The Holidays) when the gentleman leaned over and told us that he was the bassist's brother-in-law. He pointed at his partner. "That's his sister," he muttered, sounding as if he'd had a few beers. Her brother, of course, would have been Ben Browning, who was brought into Cut Copy's fold for the recording and touring of their third full-length album Zonoscope. Browning's sister looked rather embarrassed, and then they moved on to another location; I'd reckon she probably said something like this to him later: I'd really appreciate it if you didn't say that to strangers again. Who knows; C and I found it funny and rather charming. I'd probably tell people if I was related to a member of Cut Copy.

But I digress. At 10 sharp, the lights went down and the lilting notes of the instrumental "Visions," from In Ghost Colours, began streaming from the speakers. Segueing perfectly into "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found," the 90-minute set sparked into life, bathing the sold-out environs of the Palace in a delectable feast of sparkling guitar-based synth-pop that not only reminded one of the halcyon days of the best of the '80s, but also revealed a bopping '60s mentality that wouldn't have been out of place on a Beach Boys record. Of particular notice were the tracks off the new album, which – man, oh man – they positively shone, they were so damn tight and achingly beautiful. "Need You Now," the slow-burning and powerful first single off Zonoscope, practically soared through the ceiling with Dan Whitford's angelic vocals and Erasure-reminiscent synth loops. "Take Me Over" never ceased to delight, what with its impossible-to-shake-from-one's-head catchiness – as I said before, a great driving song. A shimmering surf-rock feeling washes over the sunny "Where I'm Going," and the chants and droid-dance quirkiness of "Pharaohs & Pyramids" gave the audience a taste of the influence Kraftwerk has had on their musical palates. But, I was most curious about, what was "Sun God," that 15-minute behemoth of majestic synths, boisterous percussion, squalling guitars, and dreamy rhythms, going to sound like in a live setting? Fucking awesome, is the answer. I'm telling you: It was simply crazy. Say what you will about the Cut Copy live experience – "Sun God" was different. They just went batshit. Crazy feedback, an extra drummer, a video screen in the centre of the stage displaying objects blowing up in slow motion in a desert somewhere, aggressive lighting, and, simply put, four dudes on stage grinning like idiots and having the time of their lives made this a bloody standout. 


Oh, Cut Copy: your live shows are turning into events. And that's a great thing. After two encores, they finished with the gorgeous "Feel The Love." I think the crowd filing out of the Palace Theatre felt that way about Cut Copy's music. It was amazing, and I for one cannot wait to see what they do next.


Here's 28 seconds of "Sun God" I filmed on my iPhone:

setlist

visions

nobody lost, nobody found

where i'm going

so haunted

corner of the sky

lights and music

take me over

saturdays

pharaohs & pyramids

hearts on fire

sun god

-----

need you now

out there on the ice

-----

feel the love

Oh, and here's Cut Copy performing "Saturdays" live for NYC's Fearless Music.

Album Review: Cut Copy. "Zonoscope"

CUT COPY

ZONOSCOPE

©2011 Modular Recordings

One knows, as soon as Cut Copy's third full-length album Zonoscope begins with opening track "Need You Now" and its delightfully delicate marriage of crystalline synths and dreamy guitars, that this Melbourne band's trajectory is true. 


On the 27th January this year, when Cut Copy first released "Need You Now," I'd written:

"Dan Whitford's vocals are as emotive as ever, and the rhythms put forward by Tim Hoey and Mitchell Scott, while tinged with a delicacy and deliberation that bring to mind the best of '80s New Wave, still contain a contemporary edge guaranteed to get asses out there on that fucking dance floor." 

Well! Now that the album's been out for a couple of months, and Cut Copy is poised to return home for their homecoming Australian tour in a week's time, I feel the need to squawk a bit from my little box and declare just how fucking awesome Zonoscope is. A great rollicking song that's perfect for driving can be found in the wonderful "Take Me Over." "Alisa" brings together '60s harmonies with a surf-rock sensibility. The rather surreal "Blink and You'll Miss A Revolution," one of the album's denser tracks, brings to mind some of the house epics that were popular on dance floors back in the early '90s and positively soars at moments. And then there's the experimental "Pharoahs & Pyramids," that's abuzz with cool sound effects, vocal distortions, and a nice bass-y synth line that bumbles merrily along its way. 


BUT – nothing on this great blue Earth could have prepared me for the joyous awesome power of the closing track, "Sun God." Holy crap, it's ... shit, it's just fucking amazing. Fifteen minutes and five seconds of just pure, incredible, and game-changing pop, "Sun God" WILL stop you in your tracks and cause you to say to yourself, "Wait – what? What the hell was that?" And then you'll play it a second time and let its lush brilliance wash over you again. A hypnotic piece of ever-shifting musical ideas, "Sun God" as a whole is made up of several distinct genres, constantly evolving and becoming something else as it charges along on a crazy, wonderful ride. Hyperbole on the part of this blogger? I doubt it. When I listen to it, I can't help but wonder if the boys have been listening to a lot of Kraut Rock; there's a distinct Tangerine Dream feel to the whole affair, with some Can-style percussions thrown in here and there and was that a ghost of Kraftwerk I heard in there at 9:19? Check out the cowbells that kick in at the three-minute mark! Oh, I just love this track; it's worth the price of admission alone. Here – listen to it yourself and see.


 Cut Copy - Sun God by modularpeople 


And here's the video for the first single, "Need You Now."





Cheers, friends, and have a great day!

New Music: Cut Copy.

Zonoscope, Cut Copy's eagerly awaited third album, will be released 4 February this year. I, for one, am tremendously excited; Cut Copy has always been a riveting band, delivering music that is breathtaking in its delirious futuristic beauty. The quartet from my adopted city Melbourne, Australia (they used to be a trio, but they've recently brought on their fourth member, Ben Browning, on bass), through their first two albums – Bright Like Neon Love (2004) and In Ghost Colours (2008) – have exhibited a singular grace and elegance that is unmatched by their contemporaries. Dan Whitford's vocals are as emotive as ever, and the rhythms put forward by Tim Hoey and Mitchell Scott, while tinged with a delicacy and deliberation that bring to mind the best of '80s New Wave, still contain a contemporary edge guaranteed to get asses out there on that fucking dance floor.


So it is with great pleasure that I share with you today the first single off of Zonoscope, "Need You Now." Give it a listen. Then give it another. And another. My God, it's gorgeous. Cheers, friends. And enjoy.

Cut Copy - Need You Now by cutcopymusic