Rat Vs. Possum @ The Tote,Melbourne (1/7/09)

Fri 10th Jul, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Week one of the Rat VS Possum residency at the Tote, snags are sizzling and RVP have assembled a collective of their most intriguing, exciting friends and family of the Melbourne scene.

Of them all, the standouts are the very special Love Connection, perhaps inspired by their namesake in the three minutes of synth-pop perfection by Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. Presenting a beautiful duo, Love Connection share the drum machines and melancholy of CFTPA, framed by lush thick sounds and an openness to musical exploration, as Michael in lion suit strums the guitar with his tail. In an otherwise gorgeous set there were a few clunky moments, an off beat or a missed cue, but somehow that made it only more endearing, and the set-closer All Over was nothing short of bewitching. News that they have recently added RVP’s percussion-guru Dean Noble can only signal more good things to come.

But as the excellent supports rolled on, it was always going to be about Rat VS Possum. And for the uninitiated, who are Rat VS Possum, you ask? Only the most beautiful, yes BEAUTIFUL band playing in Melbourne right now. I’ve been currently reading a Smiths biography, and it’s the same tingle from their early performances, watching something utterly mind-fucking blossom before you. You almost want to keep them as a private secret, yet also feel a civic duty to graffiti their name across town because MELBOURNE NEEDS TO KNOW HOW GOOD THIS BAND IS.

I proclaim myself converted and I’m not the only one – the Tote has never felt like such a love-in. Maybe it’s the hypnotic tribal rhythms, the floor toms all-a-glitter as the four band members pound away, or the lush layers that loop and grow as the melodies and hooks build into the jungle-jangle-pop. The fragile balance of chaos and beauty that their name suggests could give way at any moment, teasing at disaster, but it sticks and it’s like we’ve all communally gone gooey inside. Kids are singing along, following a reputation built on a Myspace page, word of mouth and RVP’s keen gigging schedule, though they’re yet to release anything. (They’re currently recording and, fingers crossed, we’ll be hearing leaks by September).

Their experimental pop has echoes of Animal Collective’s repetitions with their climbing hypnotic refrains; Jungle Pills ‘I think I love you but it might just be the pills’ is magic. You can pick up the ecstatic tropical rhythms of Dan Deacon or El Guincho, evoking that colourful quasi-religious experience of communal joy like a Polyphonic Spree chorus or the moment when your favourite song comes on the radio. The yowls of War, like screams of absurdist glee, work together with a wonderfully simple guitar riff as the round robin vocals exchange mutual compliments. Playing with casio keyboards and various knobs and pedals, this is a band whose creative juices are visibly bubbling, and they want to bring their whole audience along for the ride.

This desire to provide a rich, aural feast, extends to the experience of an RVP gig as something visual and interactive for its audience, engaging their crowd with inspired tactics – Matt and Daphne hand out peeled bananas to the front row, and there’s a promise of 3D glasses and beefed up-lighting, titled the – œRainbow Light Experiment’ for the second week of their residency.

Though some of these moments may detract attention from the performances itself. Like early Smiths gigs, with Morrissey’s friend James Maker playing the role of stilettoed go-go dancer to bemused audiences, the lure of such tactics may, in time, seem a tad shallow. RVP have the songs and the talent to enthrall audiences bereft of gimmicks, supported by only the strength of their music. For now though, it’s wonderful to see musicians simply having fun and sharing that with a growing tribe of followers. Long live RVP!