Jess Cornelius and her band Teeth & Tongue are back in a very big way to launch their bold new single Dianne. Long hailed as one of the country’s most dynamic and exciting performers, Cornelius’ return has been enthusiastically received, along with the promise of a heavy synth presence on her new album, Give Up On Your Health.
First up is Karli White who spends her set crouched behind her sample pad, never quite acknowledging that she’s playing to a crowd, as she loses herself in the music. While the crowd is unfortunately sparse for White, people start filling up the room to get an unobstructed view of Sui Zhen.
Playing the likes of Walk Without Me and Infinity Street off her album Secretly Susan, Zhen is accompanied by her band, along with rolling footage of her alter ego Susan, going about her day in glamorous fashion. Zhen takes a moment to talk about her relationship with Cornelius, first as a fan, then as a roommate and now as a peer in music.
Teeth & Tongue are unveiled upon the drawing of the stage curtain, with an orange backdrop revealing a close up of a mandarin being peeled. Launching into the title track off her new album, Cornelius promises to play older songs acknowledging it’s what most people are wanting to hear.
Easy Living is played out with an epic outro while Sad Sun from 2011’s Tambourine sounds as urgent and electrifying as ever. Cupcake is delivered in its reworked format, transformed into an enormous synth number that builds up perfectly to prove its second coming is even better than the first. Dianne is introduced as the sister to The Peep Tempel’s Carol and, while stylistically you couldn’t get two songs more diverse, the call to arms quality of both choruses make them somewhat comparable.
With a newfound spring in their step, it’s clear that the upcoming material is Teeth & Tongue at their best. The band are sounding more vital and energised then ever, with the audience clearly rapt in the performance. Although it is two months until its release, Give Up On Your Health is looking like it is going to be one of the albums of the year.
WORDS BY HOLLY PEREIRA
IMAGE BY ANNA MADDEN
Loved: The perfectly gender balanced lineup.
Hated: The coats on the floor that impeded my ability to dance.
Drank: Water to sober up. Don’t go too hard too early.
