As the sun sets earlier and earlier over New York City, nothing can brighten up a winter evening better than Cut Copy‘s signature synth-pop. Fans sold out Brooklyn Steel to see the Australian band, who are currently touring the U.S. in support of their latest album Moments. Their first release since 2020, Moments is a return to form for the band, showcasing the electric new wave style that has won them a GRAMMY nomination and critical acclaim over their more than two-decade career. What started out as Dan Whitford’s bedroom project became a phenomenon, making audiences dance around the world.
The show started with an otherworldly opening set from Ora the Molecule, a Norwegian artist whose retro-futuristic dance pop glimmers just as brightly as the disco ball helmet she wears, reflecting light across the space with her as the centerpiece. Playing songs off of her latest project Dance Therapy, the title couldn’t ring more true: there’s a healing, hypnotic escapism brought about by music like this. The room quickly filled to the brim over the course of the set as fans were drawn in by Ora’s performance, and before long the stage was ready for Cut Copy.
Brooklyn Steel was washed in color as lights flashed against a colorful abstract backdrop, immersing the crowd in a scene that felt like entering Moments’ album cover. As they played, the members let the music flow through and move them with infectious energy; it felt less like a band playing for an audience and more like a collective of people experiencing music together, allowing the sound to take them away. Members Dan Whitford, Ben Browning, Mitchell Scott and Tim Hoey worked in perfect harmony, delivering a setlist that spanned their catalog from the newest tracks “Belong to You” and “Still See Love” to their most iconic songs “Hearts on Fire” and “Lights & Music.” It thrills me to know that music in the likes of Depeche Mode and New Order continues to be made, not in derivative imitation but in genuine innovativeness, transforming a “retro” genre into something optimistically forward-thinking. It’s clear that even after all the change of the last few years, Cut Copy’s creative touch and free-spirited attitude have not been lost at all, and they’ll continue to explore wherever the music may take them.
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