Whammy Bar was bathed in an icy blue light and there was an ethereal chill in the air as Clementine Valentine showed off their shimmering new album on Saturday night.
The gifted sisters paraded their bewitching concoctions to a new level after more than a decade as the Purple Pilgrims. It was the last night of four around the main centres to showcase all the tracks on The Coin That Broke The Fountain Floor to an appreciative crowd that fleshed out the famed subterranean alt-venue on Karangahape Road.
i.e. crazy
Their soundscapes meld together menacing beats, industrial and ambient sounds and harrowing excerpts from Aotearoa’s dark past described as found/foraged materials, with a stirring, strident narrative delivered by Libeau.
They blend the recordings with inputs into an on-stage mixing desk and drive home the message of this country’s dark side with a powerful voice. It’s unrelenting but beautiful too, highlighted by Country Justice the title track of the recently released album, and the outstanding As It Stands.
The mix of older souls and younger alternative music fans in the growing crowd warmed to the often alarming collage, with sound engineer Suren Unka on the mixing desk.
Truly unique and menacing, shades of a feminist DJ Shadow with the cleverly blended samples, spikey and determinedly alternative – catch i.e. crazy if you dare.
Clementine Valentine
The sisters augmented the sound with their own keyboards and another electric guitar – while the powerful drums and other instrumentation were on a prerecorded mix for them to play and weave their gorgeous harmonies around.
The ominous tones of Gatekeeper opened the show, and the guitar fuzz was cranked up to draw the near capacity crowd into their foreboding yet welcoming estate – Tonight while the gatekeeper’s sleeping / I’m lifting the key / I’m freeing the city.
The catchy second single Endless Night was cranked up the batting order with more fuzz guitar, as the vocal chemistry began to weave its magic.
More Shoegaze live than on their immaculately produced album. Intoxicating like the recent brilliant Slowdive concert across town at the Powerstation.
There was a New Wave Eighties feel to another standout Time and Tide, variable shades of the bands they’re often compared to – Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance.
Actors Tears and All I See gave the sisters another chance to show their skills and instrumentation – then a stunning trifecta to finish.
Their latest single The Rope with its crystalized link between the ancient and contemporary, was an acoustic version with beguiling, soaring harmonies and an absolute standout.
An acapella intro for The Understudy, an incantation I thought you’d leave but you still stayed, and an elongated and austere synthesised violin outro that lingered in the icy air inside Whammy.
All too soon it was the last track of the night, and the brief album tour, with a cinematic tour de force and album finale, All Yesterday’s Flowers.
There was warm applause at the end from the appreciative crowd which included plenty of old heads who no doubt appreciated the concert was a promotional showpiece. Clementine Valentine are reluctant to encore songs from their past incarnation.
They worked alongside New York producer Randall Dunn (Oneohtrix Point Never, Danny Elfman) and legendary drummer Matt Chamberlain (Lana Del Ray, Fiona Apple) whose precision resonated through the prerecorded tracks via the mixing desk of Robbie Pattinson during the four-date main centre tour.
A European sojourn with multiple dates is looming large, and the timeless nature of their music will find plenty of new fans across the globe.
It was a pleasure to catch Clementine Valentine up close and personal on our own patch.
Chris Forster