Reviewed on Sunday October 11 (photo by Ashley Mar)
“We’re going to play an album you’ve never heard,” announces Sarah Blasko, her eyes slightly widened and her face twisting into a nervous smirk. Album playthroughs are now commonplace in one’s gig diary – from The Breeders to Motion City Soundtrack, You Am I to Lior – but the albums in question are ones celebrating a certain age, a vintage. For Blasko to throw her audience in the deep end with a record still to be released is a gamble, to say the least. Lucky her, then, that not only are those within the Concert Hall up for the adventure, they’re rewarded greatly for going along.
Here’s what we know about Eternal Return, Blasko’s fifth LP: it’s poppy. Super poppy. It’s layered with synth warble, churning bass and tightly wound grooves, expressing a love of early-to-mid-period Madonna, Speak & Spell-era Depeche Mode and The Human League. You’ve potentially heard lead single ‘Only One’, and in the context of the tracklisting it thrives even further. Across the darker shades and the shifting-sand arrangements, Blasko’s quintessential coo remains a solid, steady constant, sounding as vital and as emotionally invested as any of her greatest work.
The efficient manner in which the record is brought to life onstage is twofold. Firstly, Blasko has assembled an all-star backing band – Donny Benet holds it down on bass, PVT’s Lawrence Pike hammers away like the human metronome he is, while fellow Dreamlander Neil Sutherland and Sarah Belkner (AKA Miss Little) unroll the myriad of synth and keyboard patterns – the latter also adding her more-than-capable voice to nicely complement Blasko’s. Then there’s the visual element – apropos of the Opera House’s Graphic festivities – in which artist Mike Daly adds minimalist, shape-shifting backdrops specifically crafted for each song. It’s far from any Media Player-esque autopilot – a lot of work clearly went into crafting these, allowing for the observer to immerse themselves in the album even further.
As nice as it is to hear a handful of old favourites during the encore (‘All I Want’, ‘We Won’t Run’ and a thunderous ‘I Awake’ to close), this performance never intended to be about Blasko’s past. Instead, she chooses to guide us into the future – one in which, potentially, she has released her best record since her all-important debut, 2004’s The Overture & The Underscore. The future’s so bright, Blasko’s gotta wear shades – or, at least, some glittery black gloves.
