More than a decade after they last visited Australia, Purity Ring return to Sydney with the Place Of My Own tour, and from the moment Megan James and Corin Roddick emerge onstage, it is clear the wait has only deepened the mystique surrounding one of electronic pop’s most singular acts.
Support comes from MMJ, the solo project of Megan James, who cuts a striking figure in a shimmering silver ensemble while delivering a set of delicately ethereal songs that seem to drift through the room like half-remembered dreams.
Once Purity Ring take their positions, the room is transported into a world entirely of their own making. The Canadian duo have always blurred the line between music and fantasy. Since first emerging in the early 2010s with Shrines, the duo have steadily built a reputation for self-contained artistry, combining euphoric electronic pop with striking visual identities. Their influence has extended far beyond their own records, with collaborations spanning artists as diverse as Danny Brown, Deftones and Black Dresses, while breakthrough track ‘Fineshrine’ remains one of the defining songs of the era.
Yet it is the visual spectacle that proves truly mesmerising tonight. Massive fans stand between the audience and the stage, acting as giant translucent screens onto which light and imagery are projected. The effect is extraordinary. Sparkles and shifting colours appear suspended in mist, creating the illusion that Megan James and Corin Roddick are performing inside a dream. It is immersive and hypnotic, the kind of production that turns a concert into an experience.
Beneath the dazzling visuals lies the duo’s unmistakable blend of vintage digital synths, breakbeats, haunted vocoders and Megan James’ ethereal voice. The sound feels simultaneously intimate and cinematic, capable of filling the room while retaining an almost fragile beauty.
Inside the venue, the mood is one of quiet awe. Rather than demanding attention through bombast, Purity Ring command the room through atmosphere, enveloping the audience in a world that feels entirely separate from the one outside. More than ten years since their last Australian appearance, they return not as a nostalgia act but as artists continuing to expand the boundaries of modern electronic pop.
For those fortunate enough to witness it, Place Of My Own is exactly that: a space unlike anywhere else.
Images Deb Pelser
