"I can see your face!" With the current state of the online music culture, this excited comment from a fan at Sunday night's Kate Boy show is probably more common today than one would expect. A number of shadowy promo shots and three songs are pretty much all we've got of this Aussie-fronted Swedish act thus far, so yes, it was nice to finally put a face to the mysterious band and confirm that Kate Boy does indeed exist beyond our laptop speakers.
Making their Canadian debut, Kate Boy's performance was short, as expected, playing three more songs atop the three we already knew, clocking in at 40 minutes. But its calculated snippet of a show was just enough to reaffirm the hype and continue holding our attention until a proper full-length is released. Again, another fan chimed in mid-set: "When can I get the album? I want it now!" "We're working on it right now," front-woman Kate Akhurst assured, before a female fan screamed, "Work faster!" Ah, internet bands.
The set itself was fuelled from beginning to end and though it felt rehearsed to a tee, from Akhurt's arm-flailing moves to the airtight execution of the rhythm and beats, it worked. "In Your Eyes" was a slowed-down drawl that still bubbled with energy whereas set-closer "Northern Lights" unabashedly attacked the audience with every ounce of inhibition through heart-pounding beats as Akhurst begs you to "never ever let go." And, with the breathless pulse of our danced-out bodies, we really didn't want to let go.
Arts & Crafts' latest signees Gold & Youth opened the night, performing a selection of songs off of their latest album, Beyond Wilderness. The band's New Order-inspired sounds are undoubtedly on the right path, but their songs — though much more effective and impressive live — are still in need of some crafting. Given a second or third full-length, though, this band can really shape their sound into something great, which inevitably became the factor that tied the two acts that night: time. Both of them need it, both are on their way to something bigger in their futures, if only they can work faster.
Making their Canadian debut, Kate Boy's performance was short, as expected, playing three more songs atop the three we already knew, clocking in at 40 minutes. But its calculated snippet of a show was just enough to reaffirm the hype and continue holding our attention until a proper full-length is released. Again, another fan chimed in mid-set: "When can I get the album? I want it now!" "We're working on it right now," front-woman Kate Akhurst assured, before a female fan screamed, "Work faster!" Ah, internet bands.
The set itself was fuelled from beginning to end and though it felt rehearsed to a tee, from Akhurt's arm-flailing moves to the airtight execution of the rhythm and beats, it worked. "In Your Eyes" was a slowed-down drawl that still bubbled with energy whereas set-closer "Northern Lights" unabashedly attacked the audience with every ounce of inhibition through heart-pounding beats as Akhurst begs you to "never ever let go." And, with the breathless pulse of our danced-out bodies, we really didn't want to let go.
Arts & Crafts' latest signees Gold & Youth opened the night, performing a selection of songs off of their latest album, Beyond Wilderness. The band's New Order-inspired sounds are undoubtedly on the right path, but their songs — though much more effective and impressive live — are still in need of some crafting. Given a second or third full-length, though, this band can really shape their sound into something great, which inevitably became the factor that tied the two acts that night: time. Both of them need it, both are on their way to something bigger in their futures, if only they can work faster.