The Acid @ The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (24/07/2014)
The Acid, fronted by Byron Bay expat RY X (Ry Cuming) brought their ambient and experimental vibes to the Northcote Hotel. The band, also made up by Grammy Award nominated DJ & Producer Adam Freeland and Californian Producer Steve Nepela took the room through an immersive experience of their debut album, Liminal,
The immersive experience started in the lead up to their set, with bird noises and a forest soundscape playing through the Northcote’s speakers. This natural sounded put the room at ease. As The Acid filled the stage, the bird noises transitioned into Tumbling Lights. The build up of the deep synths and xylophone melody were as brooding and haunting as the owl that hooted in the background of the music. Suddenly, the build up drops and a bassy loop and RY X’s tenor voice completely change the feeling of the room. Their experimental music was played in complete darkness apart from abstract videos on a projector screen at the back of the stage which complimented the vibe of the song being played. The darkness created an experience full of intimacy and mystery, with RY X’s voice mostly a whisper. |
Their single Basic Instinct which has been featured on Triple J recently was received with cheers from the floor. Mostly everyone sang “coming up for air” as the music built up to the big-distorted-grungey-speaker-breaking part of the song and drop.
They played two songs for the encore, to one of which RY X said “I hope somebody took drugs tonight, it will make sense to them”.
I had my hints on why the band was called 'The Acid' early on.
It was a great set, with audio and visuals that captured the feeling of the album perfectly, an album which will prove to be the most unique and exciting albums of the year.
Ryan Hyde
They played two songs for the encore, to one of which RY X said “I hope somebody took drugs tonight, it will make sense to them”.
I had my hints on why the band was called 'The Acid' early on.
It was a great set, with audio and visuals that captured the feeling of the album perfectly, an album which will prove to be the most unique and exciting albums of the year.
Ryan Hyde