Circle Pit, Fabulous Diamonds,New War @ The Toff, Melbourne(18/04/2010)

Thu 22nd Apr, 2010 in Gig Reviews

It’s simple. New War are the best band in Melbourne right now. They should be headlining every show they are ever in and signed to a label that make life sized New War cardboard cut outs so you can take them home and pretend they are playing every night in your living room. Two of the members originate from the famed musical city Seattle and had previously amassed a cult underground following with the band Shoplifting. Menacing synths and insane drum/guitar interplay, and vocals that creep under your skin and then scare you shitless. New War are a band that you’ve seen on lineups but never gone and seen. That should and will change.

Fabulous Diamonds have been around for a while but have only recently started making serious waves in the local and international scenes . This reviewer last saw the minimal psych two-piece when they supported Beach House also at the Toff two years ago. Since then they’ve toured LA and played at the infamous Smell among other things and Jarrod Zlatic now looks almost unrecognisable. Repetitive loops that feed into vaguely melodic synths, with hypnotic tribal drumming sounds great recorded but never quite translates live in a venue like Toff, as Zlatic and Nisa Venerosa are dwarfed by the stage space. Nisa’s singing is still haunting and the track Wandering Eye is reminiscent of early Beach House in parts. The highlight is Sisters, with an interesting off kilter drum structure. But it must be noted that scheduling Fabulous Diamonds straight after New War was not the best move.

The much hyped and just as divisive Circle Pit were the definite crowd pullers. This is their night after all. Sparking internet arguments about their overt image consciousness over any real technical ability or talent, the stage was set for some lo-fi good times as was so heavily blogged and commented about. For the record, Jack Mannix did look like a loveable junkie just like the photos and Angie Bermuda looked like a cross between the blonde one from Abba and Nancy Spungen. More slacker in their approach than a carefully constructed image might suggest, but keeping it simple has often been the best way. Bermuda is good at simple guitar and some of their tunes have an early Black Lips vibe, with that noisy garage edge and melodies that stick in the brain. Everyone was on their feet during the first song and even the most reluctant uncaring punters were all moving along. Another Trick is their best effort, and so it should be. The boy-girl harmonies and jangled slightly fuzzed guitars combination is nice. In fact, the whole set is nice. At the right time, that whole teen summer holiday vibe is hard to beat and the appeal is wide ranging. If you miss them this time around, you’ll probably catch them in LA next.