The nightclub brand of repetitive electronic dance pop in the front bar is at odds with the thick sonic attack emanating from the band room; Parading, another of those enigmatic local supergroups Melbourne does so well, is drowning the crowd in a wash flavoured with Rowland S Howard, J Mascis and a host of like-minded iconic figures too obscure and obtuse to name. The band’s recent mini-album is as dark as the night air is crisp; tonight’s set introduces new material with a suggestion of melody, augmented with shards of feedback, white noise and the odd moment of satisfying aural pain.
The Laurels are another Sydney psychedelic band conceived in the wake of Brian Jonestown Massacre’s turbulent first tour. But whereas The Laurels may have once genuflected toward the confrontational sonic aesthetic of the contemporary American psychedelic scene, in its current guise The Laurels indulge the not-too-distant memories of the monosyllabic shoegazing bands early 1990s Britain. Indeed, there are moments – noticeable at the apex of the title track to the band’s new EP, Turn On Your Mind – when the only thing separating The Laurels from The Verve, Blur and Ride – is a plural and a spare syllable.
There’s melody and pop sensibility, too: Merry Go Round swirls through the ether like an anorak-clad hipster on the prowl for musico-philosophical enlightenment through chemical experimentation. Disparate vocal tracks mould into enigmatic harmonies, guitar tracks trail off into incandescent sonic territory as The Laurels walk the invisible yet tangible line between exploration and self-indulgence. There’s a crescendo of sound, each member of the band on a variation of the same psychedelic trip. Wandering Star swaggers with youthful aplomb; knowing glances are exchanged and the moment, like life itself, is good. Despite our best endeavours, there’s no encore, but it doesn’t matter. The Laurels have taken us on a trip and the scenery is as beautiful as psychedelia should be.
Loved: Wandering Star.
Hated: The fact I didn’t realise Coopers Dark Ale was $6 a bottle until too late in the evening.
I drank: Coopers Pale in pots, because pints are dangerous beasts to tame.
