Purity Ring Enchants Neptune Theater

We’ve been fans of Purity Ring since their first album Shrines was released back in 2012. The electronic duo of Corin Roddick and vocalist Megan James was back in Seattle for two nights at the Neptune Theater. They released their third record, Womb during the pandemic but we got fresh tunes as they just dropped their EP, Graves. It was a night full of color, elaborate visuals, outfit changes, and our favorite music.

Their impressive long set brought tunes from their three albums as well as amazing covers from Deftones (Knife Party), and Alice DeeJay (Better Off Alone). We weren’t sure how many Deftones fans there were in the audience but this really made our night. The duo had released this remix for the 20th Anniversary celebration of the album. It’s so unusual but so good and loved hearing it. “Better Off Alone” was another surprise remix but loved listening to the new twist of this dance classic track.

James’ outfit changes were cool to see throughout the night, she had a what looked like a custom made hooded jacket (embellished with pleats and ribbons) for the first few songs but towards the end she stood on the raised platform with a super long flowy dress. It had a really unique “grand” feeling. I think it emphasized the projection visuals which mirrored the scrim that was set up between the two band members.

Visuals galore. I feel like some folks might want to see the whole band but hiding Roddick behind the scrim added a kind of mystery to it all. You could see him in a few shots but mostly it was the light emanating from his setup. Kind of haunting, very cool, and I definitely appreciated the overall aesthetic of it all—it really complimented PR’s ethereal uniqueness. I like when bands not just put on a show and play but make it feel more like an art piece of sorts. The night ended with “peacefall”, “graves,” and favorite “Begin Again.”

Photos and words: Eric Tra @erictra