The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Au Revoir Simone at the Garage

Au Revoir Simone at the Garage | Live review
21 February 2014
Alexandra Sims
Avatar
Alexandra Sims
21 February 2014

Four years ago all-female synth trio Au Revoir Simone released their third and most successful album. Still Night, Still Light catapulted the group to musical notoriety, their electro dream-pop sound leading them on countless world tours and featuring on TV series such as Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. The trio return to London in the wake of their fourth album release, Move In Spectrums, which sees their wistful sonic keyboards plumb new textures, darker in hue and heavier in melancholic dissonance.

Onstage the willowy trio cast a delicate presence, their sinewy movements gracefully pulsing to each tinny drum beat. Each member holds a unique charisma; Erika Forster is vivaciously perky, Heather D’Angelo, dark and brooding, while Annie Hart holds the role of frontwoman, lovingly interacting with the crowd and imploring the lights to brighten so she can “see more of the audience”. “I want to feel and connect with them,” she demands.

The group play a mixture of old and new tracks, yet the songs of Move In Spectrums are decidedly bolder, their signature bright synths and breathy, ethereal notes are strengthened, producing a layering of electronics that echo through the space in a barrage of reverberation and cacophonous clashes. Somebody Who, the latest single, glitters with dizzying cascades of electronics that bristle with crackling reverb and static beats. Here, the group’s wraith-like voices are used to perfection in delicate three-part harmonies and cleaver constructed cannons that hum with bright resonance. Another Likely Story uses strong chord progressions and vivid, chiming notes that perch on the edge uneasiness as they merge from discord to brightness. Here, the use of bass guitar is a welcome addition to the glut of synth, evening the sound. Special touches such as the walking piano scales of The Lead is Galloping, which flutter over dissonant notes only serve to strengthen the twisting, ethereal soundscape.

Despite moments of serene beauty and the nostaligic novelty of an all-synth band, the lack of instrumentation limited Au Revoir Simone’s performance. In spite of each woman’s alluring voice it was rare that they utilised their vocal talents to the full, often relying too heavily on reverb, echoes and delays. The simplistic combination of female vocal and synth did become tedious at points, mirrored in the restlessness that often overtook the audience. Overall, Au Revoir Simone delivered a beautiful evening, yet one did leave with a creeping sense of dissatisfaction.  

Alexandra Sims
Photos: Jack Downes

For further information and future events visit Au Revoir Simone’s website here.

Watch the video for Somebody Who here: 

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Vienna New Year’s Day Concert at the Musikverein

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Present: A Not So Silent Night “Virtually Together”

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Pete Tong and the Heritage Orchestra: Ibiza Classics – O Come All Ye Ravers at the O2 Arena Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Courtney Barnett live from the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Gorillaz: Song Machine Live

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Andrea Bocelli at Teatro Regio di Parma Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Foy Vance: Hope in the Highlands

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Liam Gallagher: Down by the River Thames

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

Blossoms at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Mae Trumata
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Persian Lessons
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Blood Orange at the 100 Club | Live review
Lauren Aquilina at Islington Academy | Live review