An intimate venue carved into of Austin’s downtown 5th street, Antone’s Home of the Blues now hosts a variety of music. On Sunday, October 22nd, Australian indie pop band Atlas Genius played the historic venue in front of a handful of loyal fans. Jangled dance pop is the band’s signature sound, and a slew of hits from the past six years kept the dedicated crowd transfixed through a purely enjoyable show.
Atlas Genius was originally comprised of the three Jeffery brothers, two of which are still in the band, and the group’s familial tight-knit chemistry sprung the single “Trojans” in 2011. Riding the momentum of “Trojans,” Atlas Genius has become an internationally praised band with a penchant for energetic live shows.
Opening bands Magic Giant and Half The Animal were phenomenal in rousing the sold-out crowd before the headliners. Atlas Genius would ride that momentum into an hour-long set that spanned both of the band’s albums, various covers, and new unreleased tracks.
The first couple of songs, “Stockholm” and “The City We Grow”, would come from the band’s 2015 album, Inanimate Objects. Yet it was brand new tracks like “63 Days” and “Animals” that were most intriguing as they had not officially been released yet. Older hits like “Back Seat” and “Trojans” triggered the recognition dopamine that the crowd craved, with “If So” serving as the zenith and set closer.
Atlas Genius also managed to sprinkle a few covers throughout their set, including a snippet of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing In The Name Of”. However, it was Tears For Fear’s “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” that elicited the biggest reaction, while Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round” capped off the encore.
However as unlikely as its bluesy history would imply, Antone’s served as a perfect setting for Atlas Genius to fill out the sold-out room with their charismatic live-show magnetism. Lead vocalist Keith Jeffery was a master of dexterously engaging the crowd for a memorable show by these purveyors of dance pop.
