The Troubadour - Sat Sep 18

It’s difficult not to sense something of a mis-match between the venue and the line-up tonight – after all, The Troubadour is best-known as the de facto venue for Brisbane’s gentle folk scene, and not for electro-pop. Fortunately, Toy Balloon’s set dispels my concerns that the sound system might not be suited for tonight’s bill. Unfortunately, Toy Balloon’s set is cut very short, with only a handful of tracks from début Toy Division (and one new, unnamed one) before they take a bow.

Hans Van Vliet, better known as Hunz, is a fixture of the Brisbane live electronica scene, and his performance tonight demonstrates why: his fine tenor vocals are as precise and smooth in the live environment as they are on record.

Where Hunz uses honey to trap flies, Re:Enactment use vinegar – their sound has a degree of grittiness and abrasiveness that neither of the preceding bands has (this, I should add, is a good thing). It’s hard not to get carried away with vocalist Jacob Hick’s punk falsetto yelp on new single Problematic (from the Talent For Retail EP they’re launching tonight), and it’s even harder to walk out of the Troubadour without looking forward to their soon-to-be-released début album.

CHAD PARKHILL

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