Where are we again? At the Hopetoun Hotel, arguably Sydney’s breeding ground for fresh indie rock talent. Several hundred metres away from the clubbier likes of Spectrum and Candy’s Apartment (both physically and musically), its homely interior is usually filled with attentive audiences, watching acts that perhaps wouldn’t be granted the same respect in the nightclub districts. Tonight, however, is different – it’s a Friday night, the bar is packed, much of the audience is distracted by conversations and catch-ups.
First on stage is solo electronic/folk singer Jordy Lane. Playing keys and guitar backed by his own electronic accompaniments (courtesy of a Mac desktop – quite a unique on-stage sight in a world seemingly ruled by Macbooks), Jordy has a striking voice could be described as a less extravagant Rufus Wainwright. His songs are reminiscent of acts such as The Postal Service and Clue To Kalo, but he often seems to rest in a very natural feeling middle ground between the two – somewhat subdued, but with enough hooks to keep the songs closer to pop territory than electronica.
If there’s any criticism to be leveled at his set, it’s that it was a little inconsistent – while the set had some great songs, there were others that didn’t have the same effortless charms – particularly, a couple of songs were undermined by beats that didn’t quite fit. But the set had more highlights than lowlights, and it generally seemed as though the newer material (such as Galileo, the set’s closer and highlight) was his best yet. Jordy Lane’s music stands out among the Sydney indie scene, and is definitely worth watching in the coming months.
Unfortunately, uniqueness was not a strong point for Adrian Deutsch’s set. Despite the crowd swelling for his performance (most likely due to his more well-known role, as guitarist for Red Riders), his set seemed a little more by-the-numbers in comparison. Not to say that it was by any means bad – Deutsch’s set had some great songs – but his material rarely challenged or surprised, and at times did not particularly engage either.
Deutsch’s solo material takes on a more “classic rock” tone than his work with Red Riders, with the sound more influenced by artists such as Dylan and Springsteen. And he was backed by a band that included bass, drums, keys and pedal steel, giving his songs a full and layered sound. But apart from a few highlights, the songs themselves just seemed too inoffensive to stand out. There is no doubt that Deutsch has, on paper, everything needed. But tonight there was a certain spark missing, that indefinable characteristic that moves acts from “good” to “great”.
Jack Ladder has undergone a slow, but quite significant change since the release of his 2005 debut Not Worth Waiting For, on which he played with an acoustically driven folk sound. Some time ago he moved to an electric guitar, and tonight he played a set of entirely new material accompanied by drums (courtesy of Laurence Pike, of Pivot/Triosk) and bass.
His newer material is a lot more influenced by blues and rock and roll, and Jack plays with a curious mix of swagger and reservation. His onstage persona is much like that of a character in an early Jim Jarmusch film – softly spoken, somewhat reserved and slightly eccentric, yet also confident and if not exuding cool, then certainly exuding rhythm. Not to mention tall and well-dressed.
Tonight, Jack’s distinctly deep voice begged, reasoned and wailed through a set of surprisingly rock and roll material, and the results were very enjoyable. While a set of completely new material can, and did, occasionally begin to sound a little unvaried (especially considering the change in direction), the new material was engaging, and played with vigour. As the material becomes more familiar, there is certainly material that can match, if not beat, the highlights of Ladder’s debut.
But there also seemed to be an element of frustration to his performance tonight. Despite being the night’s headliner, Jack often was forced to compete with a constant level of chatter. He often bordered on being forced to the background by mates catching up, drinks being bought, and photographs being taken. At one point, he even speculated that the audience had mostly come for Adrian Deutsch’s set, but this isn’t true – Deutsch only fared better with the chatter because of his band’s fuller sound. It was somewhat of an unfortunate last date in Sydney before an overseas sojourn, but nonetheless his performance was engaging enough to lift his audience away from the worries and struggles of the past week – at least, for the majority of the room that weren’t already preoccupied with discussing it.
