Usually a band’s first gig is performed to an empty room, supporting no-name bands and with a sloppy set. Bands prefer to eradicate the memory of losing their gigging virginity as it’s usually an embarrassing experience. Usually. New local band Greyland decided to make a memorable night of their birthing into Perth’s music scene, with a much more impressive beginning at the bakery with supports Nina X, NiX and Tragic Delicate.
Solo artist Nina X opened the night on her own, with a captivating show. Supported only by her piano and an additional maraca, she bravely moved through a selection of enchanting tunes reminiscent of Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, The Dresden Dolls and an old jewellery box that plays a tune when you open it – the kind that gives you chills and reminds you of the tense moments in a horror flick; cute and sour at the same time. There was a melancholy that surrounded her throughout her performance. It was clear that she was making herself quite vulnerable with these tunes, with some kind of authenticity. Amidst her set she even managed a Bjork cover, playing it like it was her own.
NiX presented themselves next, quite a change from Nina X just before them. The three-piece cranked up the distortion and blasted out a loud and rather tight set. Sounding strangely like a blend between Silverchair and Cog, the band has much potential – they only have to find it, and reveal it. At the moment, they are lacking some kind of spark or flare, the unknown x-factor that makes some bands great and others just not-so. It will be interesting to see where they go now, as the three prepare to hibernate in order to write for their new EP. Let’s hope they can get their hands on that elusive x-factor.
Tragic Delicate, the third act for the night, have been around for what feels like forever. With many line up changes, they seem to have found one that works well for them now. On the back of their No One Could Explain album, the five have a finely crafted sound that is unlike anything else – some kind of dark, mysterious folk rock. Their name is a perfect description of the group: they are both tragic and delicate, but otherwise it is incredibly difficult to explain what they really sound like. Tight as always, they took the reigns of professionalism from the first to last note. This is a solid group, with no individual contributing too much or too little – they operate with a collective musical maturity.
And then, finally, Greyland set themselves up. Debut gigs are exciting because no-one really knows what is to be expected. However, the selection of bands prior to them must give some indication. Greyland are Hannah Thomas and Darrell Sundai. The two members originally began in the heavy yet melodic band Seraphim who have since fallen apart. With Hannah on vocals, Darrell has taken to the samples and programming of the delicate musical atmosphere in which Hannah can explore vocally. Though for this live performance, Darrell took charge of the percussion, the duo pulling in ex-Seraphim guitarist Joe Lui to cover the guitar duties and bassist Jon Barton to fill out the bottom end of the mix.
The Greyland experience is exactly that: an experience. Theatrical, atmospheric, emotive and powerful, their songs didn’t abide by the supposed rules of music, often without an identifiable end, Darrell triggering ambient sounds that would transport the audience to a different experience. It was a strange clash like this. Their music sounded particularly suited to a film soundtrack, but they didn’t have the assistance of visual media to complete the illusion. Instead such ambient sounds as running water would conjure up a sense of the nature, but this was harshly jarred by the fact that it was a band in a venue after all. None-the-less, this experiential jarring was a fascinating phenomenon that facilitated a curious atmosphere.
The greatest feature of Greyland was that they could control moods with their sound. With melancholic and beautiful layers of sound, their set was more of a journey through emotion. Unfortunately, their heavier moments when Joe hit the distortion and Jon played more aggressively appeared to be their weaker moments, as it broke with this atmosphere they were toying and experimenting with.
Hannah’s vocals were always masked in a thick reverb, creating an illusion that turned the walls of the bakery into a vast forest, or valley. Losing herself to the music, it seemed she was being transported by the atmospheric sounds and added to them, turning her voice into more of an expressive instrument than a lyrical feature. Despite being summer time in Australia, something about their set felt like a European winter. Supposedly the band draws their name from the place between certainties, the land between black and white: the Greyland. It definitely was an uncertain set, but perhaps not for quite the same reasons as those they had intended. It wasn’t always evident what they were trying to do, but it was reasonably clear as to how they were trying to do it.
It’s very difficult to capture this band in literature when they are so reliant on the experience. As a debut performance, the band shows a lot of promise as they seem to already have some of the x-factor. Give them time, perhaps not even much, and their goal will become more evident as they learn to take their audiences on a more seamless journey. Time will tell, but for now – be excited. Perth is often lacking in musical artists with enough commitment to try something really different to the present trends, to make a musical experiment, and Greyland do seem to feature such artists.
