SINGAPORE — The members of premier art-rock ensemble The Observatory come across as a humble, self-effacing bunch. However, when it comes to their music, they are dead serious about putting on the best performance possible. Perhaps that was the reason why, when Dharma (lead guitar), Vivian Wang (keyboard bass), Cheryl Ong (drums), Leslie Low (vocals/guitar) and Yuen Chee Wai (electronics) took the stage in almost complete darkness, there was an apparent sombre tone about the proceedings.

Considering the complicated nature of the band’s avant-garde/progressive rock agenda, it’s not difficult to comprehend. That sense of history was palpable throughout their show at The Substation Theatre to launch their sixth album, Oscilla. The current incarnation of the band produced a performance of power and technique that emphasised its continual evolution as one of Singapore’s most cutting edge musical entities. Founding members Low, Wang and Dharma providing the foundations for newcomers Ong and Yuen to provide their own critical contributions to The Observatory canon.

The four songs off the new LP (Distilled Ashes, Autodidact, Oscilla and Subterfuge) were buttressed by songs from their previous album Catacombs, such as Accidentagram and Ends To No Means. The atmosphere and tone between these two albums are markedly different, and the band ran the fine line between the two poles — from Low’s atonal vocal melodies to Dharma’s freakout guitar solos, from Wang’s timely synth bass drops to Yuen’s enveloping noise ambience and, of course, Ong’s mastery over tempo and time signatures.

Indeed, considering she was smack in the centre of the stage, it was difficult not to place a certain focus on the petite albeit dynamic distaff drummer as she drove the band forward with intricate patterns, visceral energy and passionate commitment to the cause. Certainly, The Observatory were first and foremost a team but it was hard to deny Ong’s moment in the spotlight and her colleagues definitely fed off her energy from behind the drum kit.

Break up the intensity of the proceedings was an interlude courtesy of ex-member Victor Low, Sean Lam and Dean Aziz to provide backing vocals on two covers (David Crosby’s What Are Their Names? and The Police’s Spirits in the Material World). This segment contrasted markedly with The Observatory’s original material but there were no complaints as it lightened the mood somewhat without compromising the artistic intention.

Break time over, the band dove into their closing songs with renewed gusto, with the final number Subterfuge a maelstrom of metallic precision that rendered this audience member feeling like a nail being hammered into the ground. But in the best possible way.