It’s yet another Saturday night on the streets of Perth and to carry on a recent tradition it is yet another local EP launch at Amplifier, with The Silents returning to the live scene to launch their second EP, 23.
Kicking off the evening were indie starlets Wales. Playing to a sparse crowd – it seems no one leaves their house before 10pm these days – they slipped into their melancholy indie-pop with professional ease. Fronted by the ever increasing confidence of Angela Flood and the driving basslines of Rhiannon Pilkington, Wales played a solid entertaining set. Although confronted by a few technical difficulties they battled through and produce a set of well-constructed songs displaying their collective talent and potential.
Tame Impala (formerly The Dee Dee Dums) headed onto the Amplifier stage, unveiling a new drummer and replacing the two-guitar attack for the more traditional guitar/bass/drums format. The change was obvious and while the former setup created a unique sound, the traditional format simply created another rock band. Tame Impala have supreme control over their instruments but their sound quickly becomes obvious and derivative. Blasting out riff-driven melodies and long-winded breakdowns, they were buried after a couple of songs and it all sounded like it had been done before.
Perth pop icons The Bank Holidays launched into their happy-go-lucky pop style as the crowd grew larger. Playing a collections of songs from their upcoming album As a Film, including the very Shins-esque This Elated Height, the Holidays showed they are seasoned performers who know how to entertain. They moved from song to song with amazing ease, chatting with the crowd as they promoted their new release and other upcoming shows. Pint-sized Guitarist Nat Carson stood tall at the front of the band but is in no way the frontman, instead the duty goes to all three up front. The Bank Holidays created songs of pure pleasure and more importantly, songs that translate that through their live performance.
And so, to round off yet another local EP launch, yet another of Perth’s top bands pitting their wares in a growing market, The Silents being that band. Returning the Amplifier stage after a relatively long hiatus, the four Perth boys drew a large crowd of both friends and fans alike. The Silents have always been renowned for their expansive, almost psychedelic soundscapes and with the launch of this new EP they have carried on the feeling.
With a simple set of two guitars, bass and drums they echo across the room with reckless abandon. Playing the contents of the 23 EP as well as radio hit including the radio friendly and crowd favourite Nightcrawl, the room quickly became packed with post-Grand Final revellers. The Silents are a band that has grown in confidence in their own sound with their live performance backing up that supreme confidence. Lloyd Stowe is a well-rounded frontman, mastering the ideal of playing to the crowd while still maintaining an air of intrigue.
Rounding off their set with Little Girl Lost, the guys played a blistering set of their unique brand of music. With the band heading out on a national tour with The Mess Hall, The Silents may not play our local stages for sometime, a great way to say goodbye for a bit.
