The Zillions, Jack Ladder @The Toff, Melbourne(20/11/2008)

Tue 25th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

The Zillions and Jack Ladder shared the bill at The Toff last week to launch their respective albums, Play! Zeuxis: Xight? Zeen and Love is Gone.

To be frank, The Zillions – first on stage – excited within me nothing but indifference. I’ve since learned that Nick Craft, Zillion-mainstay amid an otherwise fluid line-up, is an Oxford scholar and ex-Sidewinder-er, which is impressive but ultimately unpersuasive.

Some songs, such as Step into the Sun , are likeable, but overall I couldn’t discern anything new or noteworthy or novel in what The Zillions were offering. With nothing overly objectionable about their music, I asked myself a couple of questions. Does the world need The Zillions? Do they do something that aesthetically enhances my existence? I thought no. Craft’s wall-of-sound style struck me as dated – sure, like a vast amount of contemporary music – but without a redeeming modern edge. I would however nominate the album for eccentric title of the year.

To be fair then, I prepared to ask myself the same questions when Jack Ladder stepped up on stage. It didn’t take long to come up with more positive answers. First off, he cuts a beguiling figure on stage. Angular and awkward, Ladder invites attention – a stringbean with stage presence. He inhabits his music in a way that makes other performers look disembodied.

Ladder’s second album has been receiving plenty of airplay around the country – Love is Gone is Triple J’s feature album this week. His vintage style is a salute to Americana, and his songs recall R&B, country, blues and soul. Ladder renders these influences together without sounding derivative, and the final result is a fresh take on traditional sounds.

His voice is a definite asset. It is resonant and mellifluous and with its Southern preacher-timbre suits Ladder’s present style. Ladder has supported Bill Callahan (playing as Smog) and it is true that his voice and sound brings to mind a janglier and jauntier Callahan.

It isn’t surprising that Ladder has spent 2008 living and playing in New York. He is one Australian artist that I can imagine doing well overseas – his music has none of the parochial and plenty of universal charm.