Megan James with Purity Ring at Venue, Vancouver Sept 7 2012. Kirk Chantraine photo
Photos – Purity Ring at Venue, Vancouver Sept 7 2012
– photos by Kirk Chantraine
Purity Ring kicked off a Canadian tour Friday night in Vancouver.
The duo, comprised of Megan James and Corin Roddick, released their debut album, Shrines, this past July.
The Halifax/Montreal-based group has a reputation for mesmerizing, carefully considered live shows, a statement to which we think these photos by Snipe shooter Kirk Chantraine will attest.
The band’s shows include a tactile, hybrid musical instrument/lighting machine that Roddick built himself. From the press release: “Infectious vocal leads are chopped and screwed improvisationally, synth leads and lighting are triggered live with a drummer’s precision.”
In an A- review at the Onion‘s AV Club, Leor Galil writes: “On the surface, [the band] is a sleek pop act with an ear for the weird… But repeat listens reveal an unsettling thread in Shrines.” Galil says that their songs  blend “elements of violence and sensuality as James sings about ravaged body parts and dismemberment, dovetailing the lyrics to Roddick’s otherworldly sounds to make Shrines a haunting listen.”
Photos – Purity Ring at Electric Owl, Vancouver, Sept 7 2011
