Belles Will Ring, Guineafowl,Magnetic Heads @ Transit Bar,Canberra (9/12/10)

Sun 12th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

It was all keyboards, vocal harmonies and multi-instrumentalists when three similar Sydney bands rolled into Transit Bar on Thursday night. Belles Will Ring are on the road touring their new single, Come North With Me Baby, Wow, in anticipation of their second album which should be out in Autumn next year.

“We’re like rhythm section band,” declared lead singer Jonathon Miller as the five-piece Magnetic Heads kicked things off for a gathering that easily filled the seats of Transit Bar. Miller’s summary proved accurate, as bass and drums combined to hold up two guitars, his own booming vocals and the spacey sounds of Lucy Kaldor’s keys. Their opening track drew a solid round of applause, which grew louder as they pressed on with their half-hour set.

Three songs in, Magnetic Heads showed their musical depth with the more eclectic mix of styles and modern pop sound of What is it? Other standouts were their first single, Blind and psychedelic synth-pop number In The Name Of Fame, which they closed with.

Unfortunately, sound problems plagued the acts right from the start and persisted all night, which didn’t allow any of the bands to do their songs justice. This was particularly apparent as the six-piece Guineafowl got up to play and struggled to avoid blasting people off their barstools when all those instruments cut loose at the same time.

The combination of synth, keyboard, two guitars, bass and drums is powerful and Guineafowl can really put the possibilities of this combined sound to good use at times. Vocal harmonies glide smoothly behind the voice of the lead singer (also called Guineafowl), which works best when the rhythm parts take a step back to let the lyrics through, like on the song Little Fingers. Definitely the best band named after a game bird I’ve ever seen.

Belles Will Ring was up next as only a foursome, minus bass player Kent Williams. The band later declined to comment publicly on his inexplicable absence, and although there was probably something missing in the sound, they did well.

Sauntering first into one of their atmospheric pieces, Belles Will Ring showed why they’re a cut above most bands. Not overplaying and creating a massive wall of sound, but letting each instrument have its own time and place as well as versatility, combining lots of different sounds, in lots of different styles. From blues-rock, at times reminiscent of the Rolling Stones, to the series of crescendos named Stax, they did well in difficult circumstances. New single Come North With Me Baby, Wow is a great example of the complete Belles Will Ring sound and is sure to help drive the band’s continued success.