Gearing up to release Half Free, a new record through 4AD next month, Meg Remy had no problem showing the sizeable crowd what she had been up to lately as U.S. Girls. A slightly different live setup since her last visit to the capital at the start of 2015, Remy brought along Toronto vocalist Amanda Crist to help sing harmonies while cuing up backing tracks and vocal samples with the help of her cassette player, creating musical moods that ranged from undeniably dancy to downright hellish.
Remy's work with her small stack of cassette tapes, though not incredibly visible on stage, was the crux of the performance. Stepping to her setup at the side of the stage each time a track finished, she cued up disembodied vocal samples that preceded her fuzzy soundscapes. What the duo may have lacked in terms of vibrant stage presence was made up for by striking lyrical work sung with conviction, heightening the anticipation for the arrival of new material that much more.
Remy's work with her small stack of cassette tapes, though not incredibly visible on stage, was the crux of the performance. Stepping to her setup at the side of the stage each time a track finished, she cued up disembodied vocal samples that preceded her fuzzy soundscapes. What the duo may have lacked in terms of vibrant stage presence was made up for by striking lyrical work sung with conviction, heightening the anticipation for the arrival of new material that much more.