Crystal Fighters came to a sold-out East Village Arts Club looking to spread some love, Getintothis’ Dru Ryder was entranced by a dazzling display.
Bohemian or bonkers?
Crystal Fighters hit East Village with addictive waves of folktronic electro pop, fused with Basque instruments.
If you don’t know them by name there’s a good chance you know at least three of the sextet’s songs. Frequently used for adverts, their music is bold, striking and stands out from the commercial (no pun intended) mush of their synth-pop contemporaries.
Welcomed by a sold out room, Crystal Fighters appeared one by one. Guitarist Dickson came on baring his naked torso in all its glory, seeming too pumped to even put a t-shirt on. But no one was ready for front man Pringle’s entrance in a silver sequined shawl placed right over his head, just in case the waistcoat and top of glitter weren’t enough.
Draped in his shroud for the next three songs, Pringle shouted out to all his “crystals“. We’re assuming he meant the fans and not genuine crystals, but who knows anymore?
Crystal Fighters at East Village Arts Club, Liverpool
Their spacey dance orientated music and their hippy like personas could be seen as a bit naff but it works. Crazy and messy is what Crystal Fighters do best, and hey they must be doing something right judging by the looks of the sell-out crowds.
Shimmery symbols and wild guitar riffs excite the crowd as Vierich, who seems to cover the electronics, guitars, percussion instruments and whatever else he can make into music, exclaimed, “you don’t know how much this means to us, Liverpool!”
A welcome change from the bashing techno that electro bands love to do these days, Crystal Fighters throw us quirky clashes of synths and alt dance-centric tunes. But the true brilliance is that they can show us a mellow sound as well as the euphoria of songs like Plague and Follow.
Cave Rave gives us a slight move away from the electro that dominated their first album, with songs like Bridge of Bones and Everywhere evoking a sentimental tone to the album.
Their myriad of styles may not be every listeners taste but you can’t deny them their energy and the ecstasy that fills the room, which can only be created by Crystal Fighters contagious rolling rhythms.
Roosevelt at East Village Arts Club, Liverpool
To kick off the night, support came from Roosevelt.
The Cologne-based singer opened with sounds of house and disco merging with heavy electro. Unusual for this type of music, he’s captured the shoegaze essence of bands like Jaws but layered it in house and dance until he’s created a sound that can resonate with listeners enough to be commercial but stamped with an edge.
It was a surprisingly chilled introduction for the madness of Crystal Fighters.
Living in a world where the sun is always shining and life is one constant rave, Crystal Fighters gave us our dream life for an hour and a half, until it the magic was over and we were hurried out into the reality of a cold night.
Pictures by Getintothis’ Tom Adam.
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