Cloud Control @ Beach RoadHotel, Sydney (02/06/10)

Fri 11th Jun, 2010 in Gig Reviews

After months hidden away crafting 10 new luscious tunes, Cloud Control have stepped back onto the touring scene with fervent acclaim. And this evening, there’s no better place to preview their freshly baked debut album, Bliss Release, than a mid-week gig at Bondi’s superlative Beach Road Hotel.

The room is overflowing with lovers of good music and I recognise a high-fraction of peeps who have made the long, dedicated trek in from the Blue Mountains. Clearly the four-piece, who once hailed from this mountainous area, are doing something right if loyal listeners from near and afar continue to travel in to hear their unique palette of live, infectious pop songs.

Support act Richard in Your Mind open the show and entertain a spirited crowd with blissfully warped, effect-ridden psychedelic jingles, while I caught up with Cloud Control front man Alistair Wright to find out which second single will follow up their already internationally recognised hit Gold Canary.

“It’s still undecided, but we should know this week when triple j launch the album,” reveals Wright. “We’re waiting to see what the people like.”

“You don’t just know if a song is a single. Some songs on the radio are long and meandering, but people just generally listen to good songs. So choosing a single is actually pretty hard,” he says.

Cloud Control take the stage and deliver a strong yet balanced set which mixes new material with old. It was a real treat to hear how much the band has matured; producing a fuller, refined sound.

Wright tells the crowd: “I’m going to play something from five years ago”. Barely a few seconds into the intros, punters cheer with glee as they sing-a-long to old favourites Vintage Books and Buffalo Country. Whereas new material instilled intrigue into the audience; luring their hearts with what I predict to be some of the best songs coming out of Australia this year.

Jeremy Kelshaw’s bass has gotten remarkably groovier in My Fear #2 and even contains a short, sweet solo. The melodious boy/girl harmonies between Wright and keyboardist/tambourine/BV’s Heidi Lenffer return in crowd drawers Hollow Drums, Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why?) and Just For You.

As for percussion, Ulrich Lenffer has earthy drum beats covered in There’s Nothing in the Water We Can’t Fight and This Is What I Said. And based on the crowd’s animated reaction alone, I suspect the latter is highly second-single potential.

As the night comes to a close, one would think having experienced an alluring, clean set bound to no genre is sufficient; but to take home the new album and be able to play it infinitely is priceless.