The Step Inn - Fri Jun 26

Tom Hall’s opening foray is more whisper than roar. His half-hour set builds from delayed, distant drones to an immense looped, layered sound that’s plucked, rubbed and clawed from six strings, but it’s difficult to surmise whether this is a set that he particularly enjoys.

Hall’s soundtrack becomes Secret Birds’, as they clamber to stage one-by-one. Hall is still manning the keyboard and microphone throughout their set, though his contribution is buried beneath three monolithic-riffing guitars set to ‘stun’. The five-piece precariously tightrope-walk between discipline and improvisation; the constant sense of unpredictability is their most potent weapon.

Neckhold successfully confuse the hell out of us. The stabs of distortion that erupt from the speakers serve as a hasty soundcheck, until two figures begin screaming into microphones before an array of effects pedals. They perform for three cathartic minutes, tops, before spending more time packing up gear and dismantling folding tables. Worth it, I guess.

On a night of otherwise clear artistic vision, Blank Realm are memorable in the worst possible way. I suppose that they should be congratulated for navigating a half-hour of rock genre mish-mash without touching upon a single interesting musical idea. Their meandering creations aren’t even charmingly bad; instead, we’re privy to a woeful assortment of songs that I’ll gladly never hear again.

“Sorry. Technical difficulties.” offer Melbourne’s Grey Daturas, whose improvised set is cut short by a dead bass. It’s unfortunate, as the trio conjure some seriously dark thoughts while we stare into their gaping sonic maw. As Bonnie Mercer grinds her guitar’s headstock into the stage while attempting to find the room’s feedback sweet spot, it occurs to me that their high-volume noise evokes a similar response to the imagined effect of primitive man’s fire-gazing. The sheer force of their performance is near-therapeutic: 40 minutes later, we’re aurally cleansed, if left wanting.

ANDREW MCMILLEN

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