Gig Review : Little Desert, The Tote Front Bar 23/01/2016

 

An outstanding afternoon slash evening of music transpired on Saturday for Wetfest II at The Tote…And everyone I saw was pretty good, so in an effort to keep my weary wrists from giving out on me (crippling my guitar and pleasure hand) I will review the band that forced my constant beer runs to cease, demanding both my full attention and energy; The standout band of the day, Little Desert.

Little Desert took to the front bar as the 3rd part of their 4 week Tote residency for January a little before 7pm, nestled confidently in the performance space and commenced their set, commanding attention with Run, the intense opening track from their recently released album Saeva. 

Frontwoman Esther Rivers voice is supercharged, powerful and soulful. It’s hard to make a comparison to other artists. She exhaustively gives it all. Her lyrics and words create both a romantic and devastating narration, and it pays off. There is a beautiful, emotional, raw timbre to her voice, reminiscent of rock icons such as Johnette Napolitano or Patti Smith, but as I previously mentioned, it’s best to not make comparisons with Little Desert, as their sound is risky yet tight, combining the haunting theatrics that drive the saga of Saeva, with a psychedelic-rock sound, electrifying and sobering all at once. The music makes no apologies for being serious, dark, artistic and personal.

At no point in the set did I feel that this band is just out to make friends – they’re playing to perform , and they put on a killer show doing it.

Tracks such as Captive and  Resurrection and She’s Alive garnered enthusiastic applause from both the crowd inside and the slowly growing crowd of pedestrians who crammed against the window outside, peering into the venue giving way to their curiosity as this shield of sound disrupted the traffic and the rowdy banter of Johnston St, reminding Collingwood that the Tote is still the broken home of edgy, exciting bands who have something to say.

If you are lucky enough to be in Melbourne on Saturday (30/01/2016), check out Little Desert at the Tote for It Records 2nd Birthday bash. They’re playing with some It Records label-mates and friends. $12 on the door.

xx

 

Bloodhounds On My Trail – Escape II – Record Review

Released November 2015, Escape II is the debut release from Melbourne 4-piece Bloodhounds On My Trail who recently signed to British indie label Raphalite Records.

With a rough meteoric influence of My Bloody Valentine, and a sensibility and consideration for soft synth melodies (reminiscent of Slowdive and Chameleons UK) Escape II takes listeners to a new space, a space that is walled and annexed by affected and overdriven guitar, slow dominant beats and sensitive vox that narrate Escape II’s solemn story, which peaked for this listener on the emotional and wide She’s In My Plans, the EP’s second last track.

Escape II is a melodic, moody record that is beautifully crafted, and upon deconstruction, is undeniably cool. Deconstructed further, in our brave remediated confusing alt-music world, growing more in love with the (sometime repetitious) constructed melancholia of shoegaze, as each summer fades… Bloodhounds On My Trail are clearing a space amongst the crowd to do something new.

Something unsafe.

Something wild.

Check out their single Jolly here :

https://soundcloud.com/raphaliterecords/bloodhounds-on-my-trail-jolly

And check out the record here, available for listening and digital download :

https://bloodhoundsonmytrail.bandcamp.com/

TRACKLIST: 

1 . Dreamless
2. Jolly
3. Old Fools
4. Silence, It’s Golden
5. She’s In My Plans
6. Jolly (Ummagma Remix)

 

Tim 🙂