HÆLOS w/ Year of Death
Neumos, Seattle, WA
08.02.16
Mysterious UK electronic trio HÆLOS has been burning their way onto plenty of “band to watch” lists ever since the skyrocket success of first single, “Dust,” drove them to the top of the SoundCloud charts in 2014. Now touring for their debut LP Full Circle, the band brought their live 6-piece band to Seattle’s Neumos and a decent crowd showed up to sing along.
The night kicked off with local opener Year of Death, the downtempo darkwave duo of Alicia Amiri and Colin Roper (formerly of Nightmare Fortress) who played their first live set. Amiri’s full, deep voice resounded through the moody, melancholy beats, backed by some serious bass. Catching glimpses of the band via tiny green spotlights in the dark, there might be some stage presence to work out, but their sound is completely in line with the resurgence of 80’s-influenced dark pop going around these days, and was a great opener for HÆLOS.
While many electronic groups show up on stage with a couple of Apple laptops, HÆLOS has made a concerted effort to build a presence for their live performances. With a 6-piece band, complete with keys, drums, guitar, and a plethora of other percussion toys to fiddle with, the trio came out to their album opener “Intro/Spectrum” and immediately bathed the room in their evocative cosmic beats.
Before breaking into “Pray,” they not-so-jokingly asked the people in the balcony bar how many of them were going to come down and dance (the floor was all-ages). As the show continued, people weren’t so much dancing as participating in a head-bob/sway combo. But at least it was enthusiastic. These are club tracks, but not EDM, synth beats that lean sad and hypnotic instead of party-all-night. All three members of the band perform vocals, deep harmonies that add velvety richness to their 90s trip-hop influences. But don’t think they’re simply throwing it back.
HÆLOS has managed to commit to distinctiveness, bringing bedroom beats out of the shadows, maintaining catchy hooks and infectious rhythm. But it’s all human hands here. Sure, there are synths and yes, it originates electronically, but HÆLOS put on a show that feels like a rock band. A rock band with more drum pads than you.
HÆLOS Set List
Intro/Spectrum
Pray
Separate Lives
Full Circle
Sun Rising
Pale
Cloud Nine
Dust
Earth Not Above
Oracle
Review and photos by Stephanie Dore
HÆLOS
Year of Death
