Cut Copy

Bawling down the myriad corridors and umpteen staircases in what has become a regular haunt for this critic of late, I arrive breathless in the Scala’s concert hall just as applause rings out for Cut Copy’s first song of the evening. It might or might not have been ‘Feel The Love’, the debonair opening track from the group’s second album (In Ghost Colours, review) and one of my personal favourites. D’oh. Those three ladies who casually – oh so casually! – strolled up the first raft of stairs in wide-berth formation have a lot to answer for.

As I battle for some kind of decent vantage point the band strike up masterful new album cut ‘So Haunted’. Heralded by a gentle squall of electric guitar and insistent keys before opening up in expansive, dramatic fashion, it leaves the majority of the crowd in rapture. This kind of easy euphoria is a rare thing; even rarer is it executed so well. The band themselves (affably led by Dan Whitford) are clearly delighted to be back in the capital, profusely thanking the audience for their attendance and tentatively – to begin with, anyway – encouraging them to dance. No need, really: the live show is irresistible, accompanied by bursts of welcome strip-lighting (neon love indeed) and graced with plentiful floor-fillers.

So when the band play ‘Time Stands Still’ it’s met with resounding applause – louder and more vital than its recorded counterpart, swathed in radiant synth and suggestive of lyrics, an early highlight for sure. Although relatively short (clocking in at just under an hour, encore and all), the set is perfectly judged and not once superfluous. A sprinkling of material old and new is how these antipodeans play it tonight, winning new single ‘Lights And Music’ tellingly greeted like an old friend. The winsome, resolutely unfashionable charm Cut Copy exemplify is laudable, and as the evening wears on the beats heighten in volume and the surrounding swirl becomes ever-more kaleidoscopic.

In Ghost Colours is strongly represented, the band evidently comfortable with their new material – ‘Unforgettable Season’ and ‘Hearts On Fire’ coming off particularly well. The atmosphere evoked is one that recalls me of pleasantly sozzled summer festivals and early evening pink and orange by means of an insistent, pleasant undertone of shimmering nostalgia. And as much as that might sound contrived / verbose / a bit silly, it’s a sentiment I’d gamble all in attendance at the Scala would echo emphatically, if not in the literal sense then certainly in spirit. In ghost colours, then – a triumphant evening.

Photo: Grace Lun