27. Pure X at the Granada, 7/23/11

27. Pure X, at the Granada.

Next up: Pure Y.

Gorilla vs. Bear continued with Austin's Pure X, a quartet who spent their set bathed in red and blue light and some artificially-induced fog.  Drums, guitar, keys, and bass, plus liberal use of modulators all combined to create an ethereal, shoegazing atmosphere.  The crowd was slightly larger than it was during Sunset's set, and stood around in mostly subdued but quite appreciative attention. 

Their trancey, echo-laden set recalled My Bloody Valentine and the broodier proponents of the emo genre.  Slow, low singing with held notes that grew to shouts, mostly lost in the mix of slow bass and drum.  The occasional burst of grinding guitar.  The vocals were echo-laden, backed with high lilting "oooooooh"s.  Clearly the singer was expressing feelings of some sort, feelingly.

It was after-party make-out music for the hip young set, and we mean that in a good way.  Scenesters should appreciate the sly wink of their name and the party connotations.  A dark air conditioned room packed with friends seemed the perfect location to hear them. 

R said, "A girl I knew a while back would have bought their T-shirt."  He thought for a bit, then added, "Come to think of it, I might buy their T-shirt."

Pure X don't play N's genre of choice by any means, but they held his attention by being laid-back and musically interesting.  They didn't force an atmosphere on the venue, as some bands try to do; they just sat and played and let the music create it.  He appreciated what they were doing, even if it wasn't for him.

In sum: Mood-evoking lo-fi indie rock with sombre and earnest (if largely unintelligible) lyrics.  Instruments warped with modulators, vocals echoing.  Drenched in effects. But in a way that worked (Spookeasy could learn a lot from these guys).  People who dig the Cure-influenced ethereal stuff will appreciate Pure X.