For the better part of the spring, space-wave electronic titan Com Truise has been out and about in these fine United States weaving his way from coast to coast. In tow for this barrage of synth bliss are the complementary dream emitters Jack Grace and Ginla, and last night they brought their eclectic collective performances to the Gothic Theater in Englewood, CO.
Ginla, equal parts Jon Nellen and Joe Manzoli, riding high off their 2018 release Codex produced an endearing, mellow balance of polyrhythmic live percussion mixed with building loops overlaid with drifty vocals, drenched with blissed out melancholy. Long, looped sections gave way to sweeping synth chords, and, occasionally built to crescendos reminiscent of acts like Holy Fuck and their brethren. The post-rocker in me always wants to see electronic acts like Ginla push further into sonic-warfare, wall-of-sound territory, and their closing track started to flirt with this idea, taking the somber vibes of their recorded work and upping the progressive ante.
Where Ginla produced euphoria, Jack Grace followed with dissonant lullabies set to gorgeously lumbering instrumentals. Many of Grace’s songs lack the typical drum structure that hip-shakers, head-nodders, and butt-movers are familiar with, and the ambient asymmetry of his music created an arresting interlude between the beat-centric opener and closer. As someone who has played a lot of noise and experimental shows, I love watching audiences not fully understand what they’re hearing but simultaneously not be able to stop paying attention. Grace did this with aplomb.
As Grace winded down, the Gothic ramped up in advance of the headliner. For the past 12 years, Seth Haley has been producing immense, futuristic but simultaneously nostalgic electronic masterpieces under the moniker Com Truise, and based on the raucous Tuesday night crowd, people from all walks of life have found an appreciation of it. Haley’s peerless production prowess is only amplified by his live performance setup, which enables him to glitch, mod, and tweak his original works in ways that the crowd absolutely adored. Dropping the drum tracks out unexpectedly and letting the synth tracks ride on their own in wholly unexpected places drew huge roars from the attendees. These surprise augmentations were a delight and have become a staple of his live sets, making each performance feel unique. Song selection spanned the entire catalogue, but it was tracks from 2017’s Iteration that really seemed to stand above the rest in this particular set.
The tail end of the tour continues, veering towards its conclusion further west. Remaining tour dates below:
April 24, 2019 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
April 26, 2019 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
April 27, 2019 – San Diego, CA – Music Box
All photos by Josef Bachmeier.