Eagle and The Worm, Richard inYour Mind, Love Connection, @The EBC, Melbourne(11/11/2010)

Tue 23rd Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Once the realm of hilariously cheesy OTT 80s pop hits, it’s good to now see the brass and woodwind sections incorporated back into bands. And like many of the emotions associated with those cheesy pop hits – naive gaiety and unending optimism – they are once again being embraced by some of the hottest guitar-pop acts doing the indie circuit at the moment, and it’s a bloody good thing.

First up tonight though, BJ Morriszonkle and The Foul Wind Honkers probably aren’t a great exponent of this theory. Sure, they have the horn section in spades, being that they are essentially a horn section (I’m guessing the unfortunately named ‘Foul Wind Honkers’ in the moniker) trying desperately to accompany a rather manic keyboardist-cum-percussionist-cum-noodler (presumably BJ Morriszonkle). A bemused crowd tries to follow an even more bemused horn section who’s trying to follow BJ having a grand old time cranking out bleeps and bloops out of his keys, while simultaneously failing abysmally at cranking out anything resembling a rhythm through a kick and snare at his feet. The array of rainbow-coloured water-pipes arranged on the keyboard stand might have been the clue to cracking the code of what was happening on that stage.

Love Connection’s set-up threatened more of the same bemusement, with what appeared to be a fantastically complicated mess of gadgets and cords clustered around Kobi Simpson’s keyboard riser. The clue that something different was afoot came with the two floor toms positioned on either side of the stage; opening a set with a cascading crash of drum kit and up-tempo extra tom work is certainly a way to get the ears pricked. What followed was a half-hour of organic synth-pop, anchored around singer-guitarist Michael Caterer’s ethereal vocals and deep roots in electro lightness. The songs are flowing jams given space to allow lush textures and experimentation and just enough “oomph” provided by a solid backline to ensure it doesn’t disappear up its own arse.

Richard In Your Mind have an ear for the epic and dramatic as they style themselves around a psychedelic vibe which recalls the happy-go-lucky beginnings of the early 90s Britpop before the homogenisation began. Lead singer Richard’s disaffected, whimsical vocals are the perfect foil to the sprawling soundscape of I Will , but later in the set they also provide a guttural wrench to tunes with more balls. The songs generally follow a bass-driven melodic path, which allows the guitars and synth to fritter curiously away around the edges and centres the songs with a dreamy pop feel.

There was a time not long ago when the only ‘bone’ in a rock venue was the one in the pants of the dude partaking in a little bit too much of the love drug of choice. Now you can’t seem to walk 5 paces in sticky-floored music den before bumping into a geeky trombonist or saxophonist or trumpet…ist. Horn players are permeating indie pop bands in greater numbers (Brisbane’s Ball Park Music deploys a trombone bomb with perfection in their live shows) and here, Eagle and The Worm employs a full-blown, full-time horn section to great success. Their rambling single Futureman highlights the horns in full flight to kick off the set. The lackadaisical, ambling feel is something which crops up time and again through the Eagle’s set, with loping 60s-inspired summery pop, chopped in with alt-country twinges and county fair ditties. It’s a heady mix which is almost impossible to resist.

Having previously only seen snippets of the band at their myriad festival and local event stages, it was good to finally catch a fully-formed headline set for a change. With only two singles under their belt (their seriously anticipated full length is due out early 2011), it’s hard to pinpoint song names. There are big, 80s FM radio numbers leading into tracks reminiscent of The Who’s Baba O’Reilly and there are Marthas and the Vandellas-inspired 60s dance numbers. All the while, vocalist Jarrad Brown strangles his hybrid guitar-bass and sounds more and more like Dean Ween (of Ween) as the night rolls around. Set closers Good Times and All I Know are broken down into psychadelic country-pop jams to highlight the madness, before a shambolic cover of Tom Jones’ It’s Not Unusual confirms the geeks have truly taken over. And it’s oh so fun.

CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT HERE