A few songs into their set on Wednesday night, Megan James of Purity Ring thanked the crowd for masking up. She talked about a world where we are “caretakers of the land we live on,” where there are no prisons or genocide. “It starts at home with material care for others,” she told the crowd, “like wearing a mask. No one is going to save us. We care for each other. We keep each other safe. Free Palestine.”
The night began with security passing out masks near the entrance to The Novo It ended with guards near the photo pit handing out water bottles to people in the crowd, something I have never seen happen at a show before this one. All of this connects to Purity Ring’s new, self-titled concept album, which was released in September. Inspired by RPGs like Nier Automata and Final Fantasy X, the album is itself a soundtrack for an imagined game, wherein the characters’ quest is to built a better world.
To be honest, I have virtually no experience with RPGs and the only reason I know anything about Final Fantasy is because I’ve been to more anime conventions than I can recall. But, because I have anime nerd tendencies, my default points of reference while watching Purity Ring on stage are Evangelion and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Live, the band draws the audience into this world with stunning visuals that evoke the feelings of traveling from one fantasy landscape to the next, as opposed to literally telling a story. There’s a lot to see, but you also have to use your imagination.
Earlier in the evening, opening artist yuniVERSE, who performed an energetic set of rave-pop songs against a backdrop of very tall, fabric flowers, told us that Purity Ring had a special show in store. But, since this was my first time seeing the band, I had no idea what it might entail. Purity Ring exceeded my expectations. To prep the crowd, music from the Final Fantasy XII and NieR scores (thanks, Shazam) played before Purity Ring hit the stage.
When the beat kicked in for “Many Lives,” near the start of Purity Ring’s set, a cluster of fans/projection screens spun wildly as red lights flashed off them like balls of fire. It was so intense that, at times, I felt like fire was coming straight towards my face. In the moment, it just seemed like a cool visual, but, in hindsight, I think about it as representative of an apocalypse, like COVID or whatever you want to call the shitshow that the world is wading through right now.
Out of that cataclysm, you have to rebuild and try not to fuck up the new world the same way we did the old one. All of this happens with bursts of stars, more than us city kids are used to seeing in real life, alien landscapes and dazzling colors. Meanwhile, Purity Ring played through a set of songs from the new album, as well as old favorites, like “Push Pull” and, of course, “Fineshrine.” Between the strategically placed fans and the screen at the back of the stage, there were layers of projections. At times, the visuals completely obscured James and Corin Roddick. More often, the musicians appeared as shadows, with little more than their white masks illuminated. That was an interesting, and, tbh, very cool, visual choice as it compels you to stay in the moment and focused on the music, as opposed to aiming for an algorithm-friendly photo.
Years ago, I flipped for Purity Ring’s debut, Shrines, because their music sounded like an amalgamation of others I liked, like Bjôrk and The Knife and lots of Warp Records and Kompakt-related artists. It’s all electronic music that’s arty, but still accessible. I think James and Roddick push that edge even further with the concept album and this tour, in that it is somewhat pop-minded and mostly danceable, but also provokes you to think about what kind of world you want. Going home with that on my mind was probably more important than any single detail of this show.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
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