Wolf & Cub @ Fowler's Live,Adelaide (12/06/09)

Mon 15th Jun, 2009 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

It’s hard for anyone from Adelaide to write an objective review of Wolf & Cub, especially if the writer himself has (if only in a small way) been involved in the Adelaide indie scene and the apocalyptic fallout that Wolf & Cub left it in when they signed to 4AD in September 2005. Let me be perfectly clear here; in no small way, these guys completely changed the direction of Adelaide’s indie scene within a matter of months, and their influence to this day can account for a wealth of smaller bands that secretly hold these guys on a pedestal.

I’ve seen this band play maybe three times. The first in 2004 at the Jade Monkey, playing psychedelic indie dance-rock to about thirty punters, and they were really…very good. The next in the middle of the day at Falls Festival in Lorne 2006, playing tribal stoner fuzz to (somewhat mysteriously) about thirty people, and they were…kind of average. And lastly, most bizarrely, at an Optus corporate show, where an extremely out-of-place W&C played a fairly nonsensical, mostly instrumental set to about thirty disinterested corporate sellouts…and that was just weird.

My point is that for a band of their artistic stature, they have not enjoyed an easy ride since the days of 1000 Cuts. Their debut album was too challenging to be neatly slotted in with all the other angular guitar rubbish that was permeating the airwaves, and too dirty for the emerging indie-electro crowd looking for accompaniment to their stupid fashion and MDMA addictions. If anything, getting signed and famous seemed to make W&C more obscure to their core fanbase; indie kids from Adelaide.

So with a new album under their belt, and a saxophone, this reviewer was genuinely interested to see what newest incarnation the Cub have taken. The first surprise was the crowd; the old believers were few, in their place were gawky teenage boys and girls looking for love in all the wrong places. It’s weird when you realise you’re one of the oldest guys in the crowd at a band for which you were originally the youngest. But that’s how things work when bands get signed. People in their mid-twenties don’t buy records anyway.

But if they did they should possibly think about looking at the support act for tonight, Sydney/Birmingham’s The Scare. These guys have been around for a while (in fact, have a couple of records to their name) and basically know how to kick a lot of arse in the most efficient way possible. You would probably describe them as indie rock, but refreshingly aggressive indie rock at that, with a pounding rhythm section and punky guitars feeding dark melodic layers over each other. Also, their singer ( Kiss Reid ) is basically a maniac, sort of like an emo Iggy Pop, with no regard for the safety of himself or the crowd members. It became pretty obvious that he was disappointed with both the size of the crowd and their fleeting appreciation of his music, letting us know that “even Hobart was friendlier than you guys.” I sort of felt for him. So often bands tour to Adelaide only to find that their fanbase there doesn’t exist, that the kids who are there don’t want to lose their shit; it’s why they don’t come back. Then again, the guy’s name is Kiss, so who cares, really?

But their current single No Money is pretty much worth paying to go see this band (I appreciate the irony here); it’s the kind of anthemic fuck-you song perfect to yell drunkenly as your life falls apart around you. And they have a new album out too (recorded by Daniel Johns, no less) which is actually pretty damn good. It’s called OozeVoodoo. You should check it out.

But I digress. By the time Wolf & Cub emerged onto the stage, Fowler’s had thickened up a bit, and there was a bit more actual excitement in the audience (also significantly more than thirty people, I made sure to count). Yes, Adelaide crowds do often resemble collective comas, but this was a local-boys-done-good-returning-home-to-roost sort of affair, and this was a proud moment.

The first thing to say about them is that I like their new stuff better than their old stuff. Which is not to say that they’ve changed dramatically. There still exists Joel Byrne’s psychedelic virtuosity, shifting constantly between lazy wailing vocals, and frenetic effect-driven riffs, and Thomas Mayhew’s droning bass, which sounded pretty much like the end of the world at all the right moments. The drums are the same too, except that original drummer Joel Carey definitely plays a bigger role now, and the band are better for it. New addition Marvin Hammond adds new elements too as drummer and occasional saxophonist, even if you couldn’t hear his sax at all (it worked nonetheless, as a visual element!). What has changed are the tracks. Songs like Seven Sevens, What Are They Running and especially Hearts have all the same psyche-drone of old W&C, but they actually go somewhere. Their first single off the new record One to the Other was a definite highlight, with an off-time rhythm that leads to a powerful driving chorus. When the band hit these moments, I remembered the initial excitement I had for them back in 2004, that feeling that you’re part of something new and arresting.

And personally, that’s what made this Friday night at Fowler’s so very exciting. After the awfulness of that Optus corporate show, I didn’t think the band were going to make it. In fact, I was pretty damn sure that soon after that I’d see the four of them working behind the bar at the Ed Castle, or trying to hawk leftover debut albums to Big Star to make the rent. But the opposite is true. Their new album Science and Sorcery is a lot better than their first one, and their stage presentation of these new tracks has lifted the band’s live profile immeasurably. Furthermore, their sound is bigger, more relevant, and more challenging, than at any other time. It’s more progressive and interesting than ever, but with hooks that actually stick.

In fact, the only weaker points emerged when they dipped into their old material, basically at the start and end of the set. Songs like This Mess, Steal Their Gold and 1000 Cuts were all slamming tracks in their day, but I’m more interested in the new multi-dimensional Cub, the one that has choruses, instead of just basslines, that get stuck in your head.

But let’s end on a positive. Four Adelaide lads have done something that’s hard for any band; reinvented themselves in a way that doesn’t compromise their original sound or following. You can’t fault them on this. And if there is any justice in the music industry (which, let’s face it, ain’t no surety) they’ll be playing to significantly more than thirty people for quite some time.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.