It’s nice to see local kids who have received some international acclaim return to their home ground, even if they do so with some regularity. Cut Copy who performed on spooky Friday 13th as part of the “Live At the Gardens” series in Melbourne. A major contributor to Australian electronic music (with touches of New Order-like synth-pop) over the past two decades, they have been delightfully consistent in their releases and style, albeit with their commercial success largely limited to Australia. This is the unfortunate duality of Cut Copy; internationally recognised, but without enormous international success. Under these circumstances credit is due to the commitment of the members to the project who are doing it more the sheer joy of the music than anything else.
The stylistic consistency of Cut Copy does have a pleasing sameness to their music. They are not a band of enormous stand-out bangers, but rather one of a continuous joyful vibe. Their stage presence is understated, a requisite level of colour, light, and interaction, but thoroughly resisting any temptation to engage in rococo-levels of adornment. It is notable that whilst they performed tracks from across their albums on the night, with the surprising exception of “Freeze, Melt”, and with a bit of an emphasis on their most successful second album “In Ghost Colours”, and the most recent “Moments”.
Starting with the lengthy but unpretentious single-only release “A Decade Long Sunset” certainly set the feeling for the night, followed by progressive tempo of “Standing in the Middle of the Field”. Notably, as one would hope for skilled electronic musicians, a couple of tracks were combined such as “That Was Just a Dream” with “Zap Zap” (released as a back-to-back single) and, a personal favourite, “Time Stands Still” with “Future”, both from “Bright Like Neon Love”. It is fair to say that Cut Copy do not have especially complex lyrics, not least of all in “Time Stands Still” or “Future”, but they were especially delightful and uplifting when combined.
With four tracks from their most recent album, it was clear that Cut Copy is, quite rightly, doing a bit of a push for its recognition. This included the more well-known, introspective and catchy, “Belong to You” whose studio production is performed with Kate Bollinger, the lengthy and more complex “Gravity”. As much as Cut Copy has had hit singles (ARIA gold and platinum), it was appropriate that their included “Hearts on Fire” latter in the set, and concluded with “Lights and Music”, both from their second and most well-known album, “In Ghost Colours”.
The sixteen (or eighteen, depending on how you want to count it) track setlist was lengthy, but without being overly so. With their presentation was on par, their music was crystal clear and deeply immersive. Whilst few would engage in the hyperbole that Cut Copy are the greatest band in music history, they are an easy band to really appreciate and next to impossible to actively dislike, indeed, if you don’t like Cut Copy you probably don’t like feeling at peace, and you don’t like music with any inkling of complexity.
Setlist: A Decade Long Sunset / Standing in the Middle of the Field / Far Away / Solid / Still See Love / That Was Just a Dream – Zap Zap / Belong to You / Strangers in the Wind / Saturdays / Time Stands Still – Future / Gravity / Out There on the Ice / Meet Me in a House of Love / Hearts on Fire / Need You Now / Lights and Music
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