Purity Ring
Credit: Landon Speers
Good electronic music is hallmarked by the level of depth it can achieve. Good electronic music should have numerous layers worked laboriously so that a rich tapestry is created for enjoyment. This might sound like the ramblings of an old curmudgeon but good electronic music is oftentimes created by folks with a strong background in organic music. Canada’s Purity Ring is one such case. The duo hails from Edmonton, Alberta and in their short, two-album strong career, they’ve managed to raise eyebrows and popularize witch house and dream pop since forming in 2010.
A stylistic cross somewhere between High Places and the ranging aesthetics of Mommy and Daddy and Mates of State, Purity Ring’s early salvo “Ungirthed” was an infectious, internet-breaking, impossible pop song crafted in such a stop-and-go manner that managed to symbiotically supplement a perfect and balanced platform for singer Megan James to mellifluously hook out of. Musician and producer and second half of this act Corin Roddick knows how to work with her and it is no coincidence that they both mastered piano and drums respectively before embarking on this jaunt.
It is that background that is evident in their work and the aforementioned tapestries for enjoyment are aided by the economy of sound that a piano and drum duo bring to the table. Think jazzy experimentation with a mutual derivation for drive in a digital platform. Their debut album, Shrines was lauded by the media and made numerous “best of” lists in 2012; it is their newest offering Another Eternity that they are supporting out on the road now. While it hasn’t received an equal amount of praise like its predecessor, it is still a fully realized effort and a pretty solid sophomore album by a young outfit.
If this duo continues to evolve at the pace that it has set for itself it will assuredly have a future filled with richly layered music that will challenge other electronic acts to reflect upon their craft.
Catch them with LA’s HANA at 7:30 pm on Friday, September 11 at the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave, Miami Beach.
~ Abel Folgar
