Little Red, World's End Press,Passport for Amy @ MetroTheatre, Sydney (10/06/11)

Tue 21st Jun, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Little Red are a self proclaimed doo-wop/punk act from Melbourne. You may have heard of them. They’ve recorded a couple of albums that have earned pop cult status rather quickly amongst indie kids hungry for harmony and melody after the recent slew of pastoral pop bands from the US. They’re polished and charming and come across as nice young lads, adding to their appeal. Their music recalls some of the slick gloss of 80s pop production as well as the warm heart of 70s Americana without losing its own edgy cultural heritage. Their show at the Metro however was good without being incredibly memorable. Was it their music? No, not really, but there was something not quite there about it, something flat, and it started with the supports.

First on the bill was Passport for Amy, a quartet from Victoria dangerously close to not being legally allowed into the venue to play. They are young, in both age and experience, but youth has a funny and fairly aggressive way of compensating for its own shortcomings. What they lack in complexity and depth in their songwriting they make up for in energy. What they lack in texture and variation and contrast they make up for in energy. You see where I’m going right? They need to shake up their set, or be brave enough to try something other than a breakneck pop punk sound that was good six years ago. One song is fine – catchy, tight and interesting. An entire set of exactly the same thing is not.

Next up was World’s End Press, a Melbourne gang doing really well for themselves of late, with numerous support slots for Cut Copy, !!! and Primal Scream. There wasn’t anything to really grab onto in their set, with a lack of contrast in their sound to differentiate each song, or to separate them from the opening act. It was the same tempo for most of the set with little variation in tone or texture, as they seemed to be stuck on the kick/high hat/snare loop that made dance punk so popular.

Little Red arrived to the screams of teenage girls. Lots of teenage girls. Lots of loud teenage girls. Their set was a welcome change of pace. They stripped things down to a laid back surf pop atmosphere and enjoyed a more relaxed approach. Their material is more down tempo by default and their show played on the strengths of their music.

The way their set flirted with different tones was nice, and their songwriting is solid, so the strength of their songs overcame their reluctance to actually interact with the crowd. They were tight and the harmonies were clean and balanced, resulting in a lovely sound. As with the supports though the vocals weren’t very well articulated, so whatever they were saying kinda got lost.

In the end the show was a mediocre success. It was flat, without much variation or contrast, just a curiously unwavering commitment to the same tone for most of the evening. Little Red tried to elevate it admirably, but it didn’t quite get there.