Cut Off Your Hands @ TheGaelic, Sydney (17/6/11)

Thu 23rd Jun, 2011 in Gig Reviews

First they were Shaky Hands, now they’re Cut Off Your Hands, next they could be Give us a Hand. Or Two. Disappointingly, the notoriously amped pop-punks had a show that was more a limp stump of sorts, sporadically spurting some life out of its half caked-over wound. That’s an exaggeration; it was more- instead of roof climbing and raucous knockouts, it was mellow, clean and had an excessive amount of new material.

Following a sold out Melbourne gig, the main attraction brought Last Night some early punters, much to Only the Sea Slugs delight as they mused that it was nice to actually play to people instead of just themselves. However, the crowd didn’t return the delight, quickly assuming the stiff-shoulders, arms-crossed, lean-body-weight-to-one-side-and-occasionally-switch-legs position. Musically, their stuff is dull. Sure it isn’t terrible, it’s just simple, poppy, whack in some handclaps, predictability. I’m not sure what’s worse, the triteness or the frontman’s terrible jokes. It’s not hateable; it’s just very nothing-able. Dead weight. If the night was a sinking ship, their set would be chucked over first.

Counter-opposites in mood, the happy-go-lucky Step-Panther kill it with a fuzzed out friendliness. Their set is a punchy, lo-fi firecracker intermitted with effortlessly endearing banter about journeys to America, ‘zenning out’ or how everyone should look at Josh’s bass because it looks green when really it’s brown. Standout tracks are Fight Like a Knight and Stare into the Eyes of the Wolf, two slices of sublime surfy grunge from their summer-tinted repertoire. Their music has all the familiarity of Weezer, Wavves or The Feelies, but with a refreshing Australiana twang. And it works.

We all had our expectations for the Cut Off Your Hands set, one was that they’d play Expectations, but another was that they’d bring back the same manic fun from previous gigs. Instead, opted for a more toned down set, using the brief 40 minutes to test out some tracks from the upcoming second album Hollow.

Opening with some new stuff, it was obvious the crowd was into it but itching for some singles. We didn’t have to wait long for Expectations, the cacophonous punk-indie emulsion shooting some caffeine into the audience which surged and bounced like a toddler off his Ritalin. Lead singer, Nick Johnston gave us a lesson in cool, his dance moves mostly comprising of fluctuating hips and legs.

A drought in familiarity followed with the band playing three new songs, all received politely and warmly. The latest tunes are finer, with more delicate fretwork replacing power riffs and have a surfy, cruisy sensibility about them. It’s a surprising direction that contrasts with previous material and live personas.

When Nick removes his guitar, it’s a good indicator some upbeat numbers are next. It Doesn’t Matter, the jangly-pop, alcohol-abuse ballad was overshadowed by a personal favourite, Turn Cold. The Smiths-turned-punk intro filled the floor while the crowd crooned back ‘don’t let me turn cold.’ While Nick’s voice remains stronger on slower numbers, it’s the upbeat stuff where the flaws and cracks are more obvious, but we’re having too much fun to care.

New single, You Should Do Better, is a highlight of the night with its intricate precision and crisp guitars. It’s really enjoyable. We know it well enough to sway and jive and jitter along to the fascinating guitar work.

Closing with Still Fond, it’s bittersweet. We want more, we want You and I, we want Oh Girl, we want Happy as Can Be and Closed Eyes and Heartbreak. But it’s over, ending in this bizarre indie-safe mosh. Throwing our bodies around recklessly but harmlessly, it’s armfuls of fun- which is was Cut Off Your Hands should be.

It seemed that all the lethality and tenaciousness of cutting off body parts had bled out. Rather than a raw, uncontrolled wreckery, it was watered down. The new songs sound good, it’s just a shame we were swamped with them. They’re suppose to season a set list not flood it.