Anyone with their finger on the pulse will know that post-punk has entered a new golden era in recent years.
Noisemakers such as Shame, The Murder Capital and Gilla Band have paved the way for a generation of dissonance and angst to break through, and now Australia’s very own scene of post-punks have emerged fully formed and just as powerful.
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Local favourites Garage Sale started the night, and after hearing the name constantly recommended to me I was glad to see them live up to their hype. There were twangs of alternate tunings that fell more towards emo-rock territory, but flashes of distortion and the heavier side of shoegaze created a huge sound from the four piece that kept the audience transfixed.
Adelaide’s Twine were up next. Hailing from the exciting Kitty records scene, their frenetic instrumentation and vocalist Thomas’s eclectic yet authoritative vocals felt constantly on the verge of exploding into a supernova of feedback. The band were well in control though, and dominated the small room while wearing their 90s experimental influence on their sleeve.
And finally: the stars of the night. Fresh back from their first trip to Europe the band were clearly heavily road-tested, and the Melbourne winter conditions must have felt like home by now. It was my first time seeing them outside of their native Newcastle, but even without the hometown hero status the crowd was absolutely bubbling by the time they burst onto stage. Equal parts fury and raw power, the band have clearly moved away from their earlier UK inspirations and have comfortably found their own distinct sound in recent times and additional instrumentation in the form of Adam Ridgway’s saxophone and an array of samplers.
The two vocalists provided a great point of comparison for the night. Both Justin Teale and Gabe Stove proved formidable behind the microphone, with Stove’s stoic and direct approach perfectly complimenting Teale’s more aggressive yelps and guttural roars. Despite the adrenaline-fuelled roar of guitars pushed well past 11, the band did not miss a single beat the whole night and moved in perfect lock-step throughout their recent EP Et cetera, etc.
EP track Ward 52 was a standout of the night as a wash of reverb-laden saxophone gave way to a high tempo performance with Teale staggering back and forth and fighting the microphone stand as if it were about to take off into flight. Final track The Gutter raced to a finish with the crowd giving way to a slowly circling pit and one final squeal of guitar dissonance. No encore tonight. The crowd was left to stand breathless and aware that we’d seen the beginnings of a new age of Australian punk.
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