Live Review: Tycho, Japanese Wallpaper

Accompanied by three touring members, Japanese Wallpaper aka Gabriel Strum creates a smooth, ear-pleasing style of dreamy pop, with sweet male/female vocal harmonies and trade-offs and languid vibes that lull the steadily building crowd into reverie.

Japanese Wallpaper. Photos by Nathan Goldsworthy.

After a lengthy break, Scott Hansen aka Tycho strolls unassumingly onto the stage with his band and sets about spellbinding the crowd with his wistful but compelling ambient pop. Everything about the show screams subtlety and tastefulness – the smooth and soulful pop sounds, the understated performances, even the length of set. At just over an hour for the set proper, plus two encores, it satisfies Hansen's audience and leaves them wanting more at the same time.

Tycho. Photos by Nathan Goldsworthy.

The majority of Tycho’s output, and live show, is made up of atmospheric instrumentals. His new album Weather features far more vocally oriented material, with a major contribution from vocalist Hannah Cottrell, more widely known as Saint Sinner. Around 20 minutes into the set, Cottrell comes on stage to sing a few numbers from the record. While the new sound takes a bit of getting used to, live it works a cool charm, and the crowd remains in its mesmerised state. She makes another couple of appearances before the set is done, including during one of the encores when she is accompanied by just two clean electric guitars. 

The visuals are striking and evocative as well, the huge rear-screen projections depicting all manner of cities, oceans, deserts and so on, plus some more kaleidoscopic psychedelic imagery at times.

Hansen and co create the type of music you can get lost in, as it washes over you like a gently flowing tide, especially Horizon and Montana. You can hear Pink Floyd in their most ambient moments if you listen hard enough, and the overall audiovisual spectacle of this show creates a truly beguiling experience. Tycho play one of the shows of 2019 tonight.