Oneohtrix Point Never: Synth Heaven

Jessica Sykes
Volume 3, Issue 5, (Originally Published on Monday 8th April 2013)
 
The heady time at the start of semester is ripe for denial of workloads and extracurricular excursions. You might say it’s perfect for heading to The Toff to see Brooklyn-based electro noise band Oneohtrix Point Never. Even if their name does make you feel like you’ve been left out of a potentially clever joke.
 
They’ve been described as liberating synth sounds from their conventional trappings, and who could resist witnessing such a noble aim play out? The 80s had cruelly incarcerated the synth with lycra, tight perms and wasted dreams.
 
It was a grand night for the synth then, when the dim lighting and whiskey-basted euphoria of The Toff threw off its shackles with grimy, moody, sensual tension. I’m still drenched in anxiety. Although that could potentially be the unfortunate combination of my chosen degree with my overdeveloped desire to watch television in my underwear in eight hour stretches.
 
From a law student perspective, now is potentially the only time in semester when you could listen to such impressive synth. Any closer to exams and the tension will snap you like a small, ineffectual twig.
 
Essentially, my mind was blown open. Ground zero being the part that had previously judged electro and noise music as hipsters engaging in musical epilepsy. Point taken, Oneohtrix Point Never.
 
One word of warning though, do keep a handle on dancing to music of this kind. There’s a significant portion of The Toff population that looks down on extravagant dance moves when people are stoically ‘appreciating’ music. It’s a classic fork in the road situation. Play into their trap and stand with steely precision, or stage a mini dance rebellion. I can tell you from experience that the second route cuts a path to alienation and loneliness. I assume this is because powerfully dancing your way through inappropriate moments generally gives people the yips.
 
Oneohtrix Point Never performed at The Toff on 17 March 2013. You can find them online at www.pointnever.com.
 
Jessica Sykes