Kid Sam @ Newtown Worker'sClub, Melbourne (12/7/09)

Mon 20th Jul, 2009 in Gig Reviews

At the Newtown Worker’s Club for a Sunday session, walking into the bandroom we entered a beguiling pop soundscape that veered in and out of kilter.

Melbourne outfit Psuche’s musical output is odd and quirky and slightly cerebral, mediated by handclaps and whistling and a sporadically accessible beat. Psuche certainly subverts traditional conventions of song construction and this unorthodoxy won me over.

Kid Sam headlined the night and the two-piece gave a wonderful performance, and I only have good things to say about the duo’s show.

Together, cousins Kishore and Kieran Ryan render an austere and pensive soundscape. The industrial sound of Kishore’s percussion couches Kieran’s voice with devastating success. Kid Sam’s songs are crafted with subtlety – Mirror Drawings has a compelling melancholy, Close Your Eyes and It All Goes Black is a gentle turn; We’re Mostly Made of Water is driven by unremitting tin can drumming.

A more appreciative crowd than the last time I saw Kid Sam helped brew a great atmosphere and I gauged a lift in confidence and enthusiasm from the Ryans in response. I was very pleased to hear Down to the Cemetery, a quicker version that sent tremors through the audience.

Kid Sam makes evocative music that demands a response from the listener. Using fairly standard elements of guitar and drums the pair possesses a synergy that gives you the sense of listening to something larger than a simple song, such as in the buzzing, arousing energy of Jodie Makes a Fire, or the quiet redolence and dystopia of Landslide. Kieran’s fine and haunting voice is fundamental to the music’s poignancy.

The two-piece have secured themselves a signature sound. Their distinct style is instantly identifiable with its clanging drums and resonant vocals and stands apart from the bulk of indie music produced today. I look forward to seeing Kid Sam on stage again and again.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE