If ever you ask yourself, ‘Should I see Mangelwurzel play?’ the answer should be yes. And if you don’t know them yet, they’re liable to soon become your favourite local act.
The evening kicked off in extremely noisy fashion. When not holding down a solid groove for the headliner, Matthew Kirkis can be found driving the freight train of noise that is Kirkis. It feels as though we’ve been allowed into his bedroom to witness him experimenting with loads of wild sounds. You could call it noise rock, but there’s no point in trying to pin it down. As it turns out, it’s only the beginning of a night of genre-mindbending.
After a little break it’s time for pop extravaganza Cool Sounds (not just a clever name). They’re pretty relaxed and laidback as they work through their dream-like repertoire, however, it’s clear they’ve slaved over arrangements for hours to get the songs spot on. The performance is full of dead set pop gems. And the inter band banter is hilariously awkward. The tunes are reminiscent of Mac DeMarco at times, so is the verbal back and forth between band members.
The sound of Whitney Houston blasting through the PA means it’s party time, Mangelwurzel style. And who wouldn’t want to do exactly that by celebrating the release of their debut long player, Gary. Cosima Jaala fronts this outfit with the kind of conviction I haven’t seen in a very long time. When you’re this good, you have every right to get the crowd to do whatever you want them to do.
At times, Mangelwurzel taste a bit likeBlondie, other times they’re a bit closer to No Doubt or even Nirvana. But they’re never not Mangelwurzel. They’re incredibly unique and it’s no mistake that they’ve been dubbed ‘the weirdest band in Melbourne’. Sure, sometimes there’s a prog-rock lead break, immediately followed by a mariachi band trip out – that’s totally normal, right?
“You know, I’m naked underneath these clothes?” Jaala says before launching into another track from Gary. After sampling all that their new album offers, My House is an instant favourite. There’s some nice crowd participation with a front row punter giving the band some impromptu lyric subject matter. What follows is a brief story about sleeping with Donald Trump, having ginger kids, then defending Trump because he’s such a great guy. Mangelwurzel then give us a pretty great encore that finishes with the new album’s title track. Between all the fun, stupid rambling, and broadway-show dance moves, it’s impressive to see such killer musicianship delivered with such happiness. Mangelwurzel’s new album rules and their live show adds even more to it.
Loved: Psycho pop gems.
Hated: Nada.
Drank: Tinnies.
By Naj
Photo by Anna Madden
