It’s a Wednesday night in Las Vegas and I had just finished a ten-hour work day. Dragging myself downtown for a concert was more than coffee could handle but sometimes you get a tingle that a tour will be special. Such is the case for the West Coast tour of Body of Light with Secret Attraction. The new Body of Light album brings a New Romantic aesthetic to 2023 and expands the horizons of what contemporary synth-wave can sound like. The dark elegance of the music translates even better in a live setting and downtown’s Artifice has never sounded better than it did last night.
Secret Attraction, also from the dark paradise (!?) of Phoenix, started the evening with layers of rich synth and tendrils of reverb-soaked guitar. Each song lured us deeper into a forest of muted colors and mystery. A slowly spinning disco ball provided a wonderful juxtaposition to the music. Secret Attraction are miles away from Studio 54 in terms of their music but it evoked a nostalgia for a different era when dancing helped to ease the reality of modern life. With so little escape from reality thanks to the monsoons of social media, losing ourselves in Secret Attraction’s music for 30 minutes was simply wonderful.
Body of Light hit the stage with a swagger that would fill an arena-sized stage. They immediately felt larger than life and the industrial drum tracks flexed their considerable muscle. While the synth-pop veers beautifully towards Depeche Mode at times, the propulsion of House music drives them forward which gives Body of Light a unique sound that sets them apart from a lot of bands exploring the classic synth template. Older songs like “Time To Kill” probably nail this unique alchemy best in a live setting but the band’s new album highlights just how adventurous the brothers, Alex and Andrew, are willing to be.
Bringing the new music into the audience, quite literally, the wall between artist and audience was constantly blurred and the music shifted between industrial, goth, 80s pop, and even some hints of freestyle (I swear I felt the memory of Expose deep in the music) at times. New tracks “Get It Right” and “This Conversation” are destined to be on my playlists for years to come and would have been huge staples of the golden age of MTV. Hearing these songs live only strengthened my belief that Body of Light are one of the best bands of 2023 and this tour is just the start of something big. If you are on the West Coast, get moving as the tour resumes in California tomorrow night!
