Love Connection, Swiss @Worker's Club, Melbourne(10/09/09)

Sat 12th Sep, 2009 in Gig Reviews

If you can judge a book by its cover, then you can judge a band by its cover song. And Swiss’s soul-wrenching rendition of INXS’s To Look At You is definitely the cover that would jump out at you from your library shelf.

Relative new-comers Swiss are currently spreading their solid roots into the Melbourne music scene. It is hard earth to crack, but they are well and truly grounding themselves. With the woody pine background of the Worker’s Club, flower-entwined microphone stands, and the twisting eyeliner branches extending from the lead singers’ eyes, it feels as if the audience has stumbled across six musical, magical nymphs in the middle of the woods.

Their tunes are delicate but persuasive electronic folk that tend to waft around your ears rather than assault them. They are in consistent control over the tempo and mood of their songs, with notable breakdowns and rhythmic shifts heard in Winter Coats and Phages.

The double female frontline of Lou James and Phoebe Baker is nothing short of enchanting. Their husky Metric/Sarah Blasko-esque voices complement each other incredibly naturally. Yet there is an occasional sinister quality to them, like ethereal angels sent from the devil. They move like the wind in a way that is more uninhibited than coordinated. As far as indie feminine duos go, Dash and Will need to get their act together and come see how it’s done. This is so natural, and so far from over-hyped doo-wop. But Swiss isn’t just all about the girls; it’s a beautifully humble group effort.

Phil Tucker’s drumming is tight and talented, with quirky and complicated beats reminiscent of The National’s unpredictable lines. The man must have four hands, because it simply can’t be possible to make all of those sounds at once. Likewise, keyboardist Tim Royall manages to play the keyboard and secondary guitar almost simultaneously. His keys weave in and out of their whimsical pop, adding another layer into the Swiss spell. Supportive strings come from Ryan Lamb and Christian O’Brien who are the cherry on top of the sprinkles on top of the icing on top of the cake.

In comparison, headliners Love Connection took the same recipe as Swiss, halved the ingredients, and thus came out with something tasting quite bland. The three piece had a grand sound, but were hollow. To have a bassist or another guitarist on stage would be a lot more interesting than a gleaming Macbook. Swiss also used a Mac, but for them it was to help layer their sound: Love Connection needed theirs to actually fill out their sound. What could have been achieved using loop pedals was lazily pre-recorded, or played using the inbuilt rhythm function of Kobi Simpson’s keyboard.

There was nothing heavily wrong, but it was frustrating seeing a band potential take the safe route and sit on the fence. There was not enough melancholy to be shoegaze, but not enough oomph to get people nodding their heads. The keyboard lines were original and catchy, but were over miked to make up for the lack of other instruments. It would have been advantageous to layer those key melodies in the guitar or vocals to round out their sound.

That said, lead singer Michael R.C. has a wholly enrapturing voice, with a similar quality to Gareth Liddiard of The Drones. He had great energy on stage, but looked awkward when placed in front of the motionlessness of the other two members. Drummer Dean Noble provided backing vocals and concrete beats in his bright Hawaiian shirt that was louder than him.

Then before the audience knew it, it was over. Love Connection’s set lasted just under 24 minutes. For a headlining band that has been on the scene for awhile, and has the material, it just seemed plain lazy.

However, the aptly and perhaps ironically named All Over was by far their best, with pounding leads and heavy synthesiser. Their sound is quality, but it just all feels a little artificial. It’s like how you know that mi-goreng tastes amazing, but that’s only because of the added artificial colours and flavours; Swiss was the organic product.