Tic Toc Tokyo @ East BrunswickClub, Melbourne (24/10/08)

Mon 27th Oct, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Since the release of their Artefacts EP, earlier this year, the indie blogs that have been buzzing about Tic Toc Tokyo, hailing the four-piece as the new kings of post-punk. But the superlative hype offered by befringed hipsters isn’t always all that reliable. That massively overused adjective – œpost-punk’ is all to likely to conjure nightmarish images of said hipsters mordantly strumming away – yes, Yves Klein Blue I’m looking at you.

Support act, Plug-In City were great, creating a dense atmospheric sound using pre-recorded synths and heavily treated guitars. Their hazy cover of Reckless was especially captivating. Apparently they’ve just signed for Modular, so watch this space.

The night had gone quickly and it was twenty to twelve when TTT finally came on, to the delight of the slightly tipsy crowd, many of whom were lovingly clutching copies of the new single, Ritual. There was a tangible sense of anticipation mixing with the smell of stale beer, and I for one was desperate to hear them. With a minimum of fuss they began.

On the surface they share similarities with hoards of other post/punk/indie/edgy blah blah blah bands. There’s the singer who sounds like Ian Curtis. There’s the choppy minor chords and the churning bass lines. Even their name has been done to death – why does every second band seem to have Tokyo in their name?

Even so, when it works, it really works. Ritual is the obvious single and is a killer track. It struts off with a punchy riff from guitarist Marty Umanski (a dead ringer for Albert Hammond Jnr.) and some raw vocals from singer Simon Gibbs, building up to a brooding breakdown involving shout and reply vocals, pounding percussion and a melodica. It’s quite haunting but it never strays into maudlin territory, unlike a lot of other music in this genre. It’s very danceable too. It was great to see skinny jeaned legs were flying everywhere on one of the most lively ten dollar gig dance floors that I’ve ever seen.

Ritual is good but Ladies in Vogue is better. It’s a Cramps-esque belter of a song that showcases the unexpected element of Tic Toc Tokyo’s music. With absolutely no warning, Gibbs and drummer Nic Oogjes swapped. The drummer becomes the singer and the singer becomes the drummer. Bet you haven’t seen that before.

But it’s TTT’s rhythm section that really stands out. All the members get involved, maniacally banging away on a bass drum and congas that sit on stage as well as the normal drum kit. The result is a polyrhythmic tribal shot of adrenalin which gets the blood racing and the feet tapping.

In fact TTT’s energy, in particular that of Gibbs (who has the makings of a great front man), was fantastic throughout. To quibble, they could use a couple more songs in the same vein of Ritual as the set seemed to drag in the last few minutes. But for a band just starting out, it was a very impressive performance. At risk of sounding like the litany of salivating indie blogs – believe the hype.

CHECK OUT THE PIX FROM THE GIG HERE