Every note and every vocal twang was reverberated and echoed across the walls and made for something so dreamy and beautiful it almost escapes words.
The performers were actually quite unique, in a charming, slightly goofy way. Some missteps were made, a couple of lyrics were flubbed, but none of that actually mattered, and it came across to the assembled audience as more charming than anything else.
Opener Jack Grace was quite minimalist when it came to his performance, sticking to incredible vocals, a selection of keys and a sample pad – all of which combined to make an understated, lovely sound. His vocal work was relaxed and excellent, and his demeanour as a performer and musician was natural. When KLLO cited him as an ‘inspiration’ for their music, it wasn’t hard to see how.
As for KLLO, comprised of Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam, the show they put on escapes words. Every note and sound seemed to reverberate off the walls of the venue, but it would stand to reason that with their head-in-the-clouds take on electro-pop, they’d have that effect anywhere. To reinforce the spectacle, the duo also decided that they would benefit from a live band to back them up which was an amazing touch, adding a new layer of sound and complexity to their songs.
Most of their setlist was comprised of tracks from their latest release Backwater, with a couple of throwbacks for the really die-hard fans in the crowd. Their stage presence, much like Grace before them, was humble and effortless; they seemed genuinely excited to be playing the stage. There wasn’t a single moment of their set that wasn’t enjoyable and enthralling, and for such a young act to display such a trait can only mean bright things for them in the future.
There was a small handful of missteps, but they were recovered from excellently, and didn’t have an impact on the performance at all; actually serving to add a sort of humanising element to the whole thing. If you spot KLLO performing somewhere in Melbourne in the future, do yourself a favour and get tickets as fast as your devices or wallet will let you.
Highlights: ‘Dissolve’ and ‘Last Yearn’, two tracks by KLLO that washed everyone away, especially me.
Lowlights: A live show finishing at 10pm?
Crowd Favourite: The entirety of ‘Nylon’, in which one of the loop pads started blaring out mid-performance and forcing a restart of the entire lovely song. One of those things you had to be there for, I reckon.
