Drab Majesty
27th February 2020
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Ali Nicholls. Photography by Connor Crawford.
Through the drifting smog of Nag Champa and the thick humidity of a hundred or so goths huddled underground on a hot summer night, Drab Majesty led their Tāmaki Makaurau fans through the cavernous underbelly of their deep dark new wave sound.
Whammy! isn’t completely packed tonight, but there’s little relief from the heat as darkwave darlings from across the city emerge from the shadows for an evening of aural indulgence. It seems that there are more opportunities for us to congregate now than ever before. Our city’s lively post-punk scene is rife with locally crafted renditions of classic styles the world over, with synth-pop rapidly becoming a staple nutrient for the soulful body of work coming out of Auckland. No doubt spurred on by the international success of contemporary acts which seek to breathe new life into the niches that built post-punk in the early 80s, we’re now used to such a high standard of sound and performance that it takes a revelation to wow this crowd.
Drab Majesty’s previous venture to Aotearoa was greeted with bubbling anticipation. Their 2019 album Modern Mirror, while not as impactful as 2017’s The Demonstration, is arguably their tightest yet. Twisting the prism of the tale of Narcissus and Echo, each track explores a facet of the cruel vanity of unrequited love and desire. They meticulously refined their aural aesthetic such that each song on the album seems to represent its entirety. Production is at its peak, and it’s hard to find fault in any one aspect of the release. Their 2019 tour sold out in Auckland a result of the critical acclaim of the band’s latest material. And so, still riding the dark-wave of Modern Mirror, Andrew Clinco and Alex Nicolaou brought their live two-man rendering back for one last dance.
Drab Majesty emerge from the brick halls in full drag: white iridescent suits, white face paint, white hair, and black glasses. The set begins with ambient synths slowly creeping out of the speakers until the pillars of the main room are vibrating, and the set opens with the lulling ‘A Dialogue’. Eyes closed, heads lolling, the audience embraces the quintessential synth-wave dance of wafting from side to side to the pulsing kick off the drum machine. Energies lift with the second track as we are pulled out of the tide of slow, atmospheric synths and harmonies, and plunged into the uplifting smacks of the drum track of ‘Kissing the Ground’. ‘The Other Side’ moves us into the main body of the set, and here we stay for the remainder of the show.
Drab Majesty’s signature monochrome aesthetic brings a bit more theatre to what is otherwise a miraculously straight forward set up. Their aesthetic is so profoundly suited to their sound that it’s hard to imagine them taking any other form. But as the show rolls on, I find myself feeling increasingly unsatisfied, longing for something a little richer from them. After the third song comes to a close and we transition (with the synths humming away in the background) into the upbeat single ‘Oxytocin’, I start to come to terms with the trappings of such heavy inspiration. Drab Majesty do honourable justice to their influences, but they wear them so heavily on their sleeves that in a live context they almost seemed to confine them.
One downside of their simplistic live style is that as the visual intrigue wanes, the consistency of their sound becomes more apparent and the songs begin to feel samey. Drab Majesty have nailed the darkwave movement. Each number is simultaneously an ode to the post-punk/goth OGs that birthed ‘new wave’ sounds (Killing Joke, Sisters of Mercy, Echo and the Bunnymen to name a few) and a reimagining of contemporary dark pop. Vocally we’re plunged into deep, cold water with brooding, melancholic tones from both vocalists. The synths swirl and swell with an oceanic ambience, and a selection of ten or so pedals pull forth a metallic, crystalline sound from Clinco’s guitar. On the record this sound feels lively, with a punchy dynamic underscoring the ethereal waves that hover above. It echoes of an homage, but thanks to modern production, it feels fresh. However, for all the shimmery aesthetic of their live performance, they seem to lack the passion and sophistication of the recording on stage. After the fifth song I feel as though I’ve experienced the full range that the duo has to offer.
The set rolls through Modern Mirror, with the single ‘Ellipsis’ being the most lively of the night. The dancing hasn’t changed, the audience is still struggling with the heat as they drift side to side, Clinco and Nicolaou are still unfurling their lyrics in their signature saturnine drawl, and it becomes harder to sense a distinction between the tracks. By the closing number, I feel that while we’ve been treated to a night of great post-punk revival dark-wave synth-pop, we haven’t really been challenged. We haven’t been asked to reimagine the direction of contemporary post-punk, or to look outside to other genres for inspiration. And so, while I don’t leave feeling entirely despondent, I’m also not entirely convinced that Drab Majesty’s relevance will hold up for much longer without embracing more obscure and curious dimensions in their future.
What Drab Majesty do, they did with precision and for their most adoring fans their performance was no doubt a special one. Here’s hoping they can continue to ride the darkwave into surprising waters in the future.
Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this brilliant darkwave act? Or have you seen Drab Majesty perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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