There have been a few moments where they approached listenability while bashing their gear and mics like 2001‘s post-enlightenment apes. Tonight at The Tote, those moments where just plain ennui-inducing, instead providing an endurance challenge for those unwilling to shell out for a set of earplugs. There were moments which hinted towards an R’n’B inflection (maybe satirically so), but I think I’d prefer to be subjected to R Kelly’s (alleged) home video collection rather than endure another bout of Bum Creek’s abrasive piss muzak.
Crayon Fields frontman Geoffrey O’Connor fully embraced a karaokesthetic for his latest eponymous project, replete with a gaudy light show which temporarily turned The Tote bandroom into a really shitty version of Studio 54. Following in the gaudy lo-fi footsteps of R. Stevie Moore, or a more sentimental Ariel Pink, the group (he made a point of saying “We are Geoffrey O’Connor”) initially came across as endearingly nostalgic. As the PA struggled to process the lo-fi synth backing beats, the songs degraded into the realm of being a little same-ish. I think I get it, but there’s the underlying feeling that Sydney’s Donny Benet is about to pull off a similar shtick with a greater sense of aplomb.
The ‘full house’ sign went up just before Rat Vs Possum dished up the night’s first serving of relatively conventional musicality. After crushing it at Sugar Mountain a few months back, the group have been hard at work on their second full-length. While the group are by and far the best at what they do on a local level, they seem to be perpetually in a state of catch-up with whatever trends are ruling the world stage. There is still that sense that the band are somewhat burdened by the carcass that is dance-punk, but there is a sense of cosmic enlightenment that seems to be shining through on new material – a la El Guincho.
Here to launch their fucking great debut LP, Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid, Melbourne duo Pets With Pets rose to theoccasion with an expectedly batshit arrangement. The duo fleshed out their ranks with two supplementary musicians, who didn’t so much add any new elements, but rather accentuated aspects of the swirling hurricane of noise. Material from Saturday Aquatic Pixie Acid was played in a manner that made sense of all four words contained in the title.
Pets With Pets were a UFO which descended upon Collingwood with the intent to probe our ear-holes. A truly pleasurable, if overly visceral, experience.
