Wolves @ Rocket Room 2/10/09

Mon 5th Oct, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Despite having played their first show barely four months ago, it seems surprising that Friday night at the Rocket Room was Wolves’ first headlining show. But when most of the bands members were already established local talents, it wasn’t surprising to see just what all the fuss has been about.

The dark sounds of Kudos Fiasco served as an appropriate precursor to the bands that would follow. They started the night with their edgy electronic tunes, playing to a small but appreciative crowd. Second on the bill was Sparks Vertigo. The five piece band looked crowded on the stage, largely because of front man Andrew Martin’s Roland situated front and centre. Gathering a decent crowd, the band sounded something like Coldplay with more of a loud/quiet dynamic. While the band has a full cast of talented musicians, on stage they appeared more like a backing band to Martin. The most charismatic of the bunch, Martin’s performance also seemed to be held back as he was virtually trapped as he sat behind the imposing keyboard. But perhaps it was just the small Rocket Room stage that didn’t do the band justice. The Jackards well and truly filled the night’s pop quota with their contagious guitar driven tunes. Their pop rock sound was filtered through punk-esque undertones, and at times reminders of the feverish conviction of Old 97s style country tunes. Front man Glenn Sarangapany was not put off by the diminished crowd, and persevered to convince those left in the room that they made the right move in sticking around. In the second half of the set the band offered up two new songs to the audience, each performed with an attractively careless attitude of ‘let’s just give this a go’. As the set came to a close The Jackards played current single 16 months, just in time to get it stuck in your head. With an album due out in November, tonight’s performance suggests The Jackards will be worth keeping an eye on.

It’s immediately obvious that the members of Wolves are all seasoned performers. Initially mistaken as an orchestral tuning exercise, the first song, myspace track Bright Light, began instrumentally, filling every inch of the venue with the dark atmospheric sounds the artists have been cultivating these past few months. Vocalist Adam Burford sat on the stage, as cool as if he was just waiting for a bus-or maybe a limo, from his nonchalant expression-before rising to his place in front of the microphone.

It was around this point that guitarist Russell Winter kicked things off quite literally as he knocked his fold back speaker off the stage: the result of his sprightly ‘he should be in a hardcore band’ darting around the small space. Through the first few songs the band were feeding a visceral indie rock sound that moved and swelled throughout the room. Each song poured into the next, building on the atmosphere of the one before. Rachael Aquilina’s violin brings the same intensity to Wolves that she contributed to previous band Streetlight. The violin parts giving the songs an orchestral fullness, as well as a captivating edge. Wolves’ music is Gothic, in the Edgar Alan Poe, literary sense, rather than the urban sub-cultural sense.

As the second half of Wolves’ set approached, this mood fed the band’s energy and lead them on to continuing strengths. Somewhere midway, Burford found himself seated again, glass of wine in hand, reminding us just how at home he felt. Reucas Lim (Bass) and Jason Robb (Drums) were the unsung heros of the band, careful not to draw attention to themselves, both musicians played their instruments flawlessly. If you could drag your attention away from the other three members you were rewarded with the same calibre of performance from these two talented musicians. It was clearly a strength for both Lim and Robb that they knew just when to hold back, never giving too much or too little to the songs.

Coming towards the end of the set, the song Cowboys was a clear highlight. While the first half of the set was an indication of the kind of sound these musicians want to create, Cowboys showed off their song writing strengths. Even as the show came to an end the band’s energy refused to lag, and during the final song It’s Alright, Robb succeeded in knocking over a cymbal with the fervency of his drumming. And as Wolves’ first headlining show, we can only assume this is just the beginning.