I saw Austra for only the second time last week and the first time backed with Sari and Romy Lightman (Tasseomancy), the show was great though perhaps it didn't quite live up-to my incredibly high expectations.
The sound (where I positioned at least) was a bit too quiet until the encore when Katie asked for it to be turned up (the volume had a big impact on the synth sound and bass in my opinion) and secondly due to the atmosphere. For me it wasn't quite as good as at Corsica Studios, let's face it, the majority of Shoreditch is more interested in being cool than dancing to some dark and brooding synth-pop. Let's add a third a negative that is nothing to do with the music. The price of one can of San Miguel - £4.50. Seriously Cargo, that is taking the piss.
Saying that the show was still highly enjoyable, the twins were as entrancing as I was expecting and certainly help the visual element on the show (I'm not sure why they didn't open ahead of the frankly awful band that did) and Katie was equally hypnotising as she showcased her exception vocal range, her hand movements also channelled some pretty awesome energy. Full marks for the light show that would have befitted a dark nightclub much better than the back room of Cargo but still hit the mark, "The Beat and The Pulse's" menacing undertones and last single "Lose It" got the best reception of the night and they sum up what Austra are about, dark, bewitching and undeniably seductive.
If you can't wait to catch Austra live, as well as playing End of the Road (Whoop) they return for two UK shows in early September:
Sept 5th - DEAF INSTITUTE - Manchester
Sept 6th - SCALA - London
Brilliant. Watch these rather spellbinding new session videos that have shown up online of the past week or so. Firstly a rather pink "Darken Her Horse", the album opener and one of my favourites:
and this rather lovely version of "Lose It" from The Guardian:
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