Despite taking time off to travel the world and write new material, Art Vs Science re-emerged on Thursday night as if they’d never left.
The Sydney three-piece know how to provoke, tease, captivate, energise, and stimulate a crowd down to the finest of arts.
Launching into their latest single ‘Create/Destroy’, the audience was practically one sweaty, collective mosh pit from the beginning. In a more intimate venue like the Corner Hotel, intense lighting tends to be sorely absent or misguided, but the Sydney trio ensured their light show was deliberate, punchy, and exquisitely complemented their magnetic sounds.
Vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Dan McNamee initially expressed the band’s intentions to “play music that opens minds, ears, everything”, and that they did. Playing all five tracks from their latest EP, Create/Destroy, the band showcased a new sonic direction.
With inklings of Basement Jaxx and Mr. Oizo stylings throughout, ‘Creature Of The Night’ mixed tribal, synth, and quirk to create a mysterious but lively atmosphere.
Despite a killer build-up and uplifting, motivational-like moments, ‘Everybody Wants To Change’ slightly lost crowd’s interest – as most new and unfamiliar material usually does. However, once their latest EP gains traction, it won’t be long before their new songs evoke the same reaction.
‘Mother’ was easily a standout of the new tracks, with the glorious synth turning slightly towards a Latin-American serenade. Unsurprisingly, the audience ate up this new angle, with crowd-surfers emerging through raised hands. A unique sighting of McNamee shredding his guitar added an impressive element.
Admittedly, ‘Being Alone’ is almost unrecognisable as an AVS track. More of something perhaps predicted to be from Miami Horror, the song holds an intimate, mellow sensibility within their electro-pop reigns. Regardless, the new direction is innovative, travelled, and personally welcomed.
When the big beats from golden numbers ‘A.I.M Fire’ and ‘Magic Fountain’, off their debut album The Experiment, and ‘Flippers’ and ‘Parlez Vous Francais’ off their first self-titled EP, came across the speaker, the Corner Hotel turned outrageously chaotic. A mosh pit filled the venue’s entirety and no place could shelter you from the sweat storm.
There are two extremely notable qualities that Art Vs Science dominate all other competitors with. First, McNamee is the ultimate storyteller. He constructs easy and quirky transitions throughout their set with his emotive reverb echoing throughout the venue. The frontman set the perfect scene before ‘Magic Fountain’, explaining its creation at the Perth leg of Parklife (R.I.P) a few years back, whilst creating a mysterious Wizard of Oz-type vibe that just worked.
Secondly is their acknowledgement and appreciation of a live setting. With so many bands acquiring a sonic precision between their live and recorded sounds these days without any variety – especially those who rarely address the audience – you could easily be listening to their CD in your car. Instead, this trio embraced the opportunity to perform with some slight, and not so slight, sonic variations; prominent guitar shreds, extended bridges, and a whole lot of crowd interaction made this performance a standout.
Detailing that there would be no encore, the boys led an audience vocal warm-up to prepare for one final singalong between “such good friends”. Ending with ‘Hollywood’, as always the case, Art Vs Science concluded their energetic, chaotic, and frenzied set in the highest of spirits. Coming together for a bromantic hug and a bow in the adoring spotlight, the boys proved that no gap in time could disintegrate their musical ability or massive fan following.
Setlist
Create/Destroy
A.I.M fire
Creature Of The Night
Everybody Wants To Change
Magic Fountain
With Thoughts
Being Alone
Flippers
Mother
Parlez Vous Francais
Hollywood
