The Paper Scissors, Guerre,Pluto Jonze @ OAF, Sydney(17/6/11)

Tue 21st Jun, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It was frigid outside the Oxford Art Factory last night, the venue itself providing the only reprieve from icy winds and the outdoor 17 degrees temperature (which, being honest, felt like absolute zero). Unfortunately for myself and everyone else braving the cold, the OAF kept up its trend of opening doors 15 minutes after 8pm, letting us gaze longingly at the security’ huge coats.

When we finally got inside, it was only to discover that everyone else who’d been lining up were there for the Gallery Bar free show, leaving the main bar empty for almost 20 minutes before anyone beyond friends of the bands entered the room. It wasn’t looking good for the first support, Guerre, who was due to start any minute. Following his mesmerising opening vocal play (sounding like something straight off the Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack), I looked around to see that a fairly small crowd had gathered. Better than nothing, but this artist definitely deserved a larger following with the mellow dance beats he was pumping out of the speakers. Set highlights included Howl, with its interesting and unique vocals; Palms (a roughed up dance version of the music played while on hold with the phone company); and final track River Kingdom. An interesting addition was the Guerre-altered presentation of the Destiny’s Child song Say My Name. As comes with the territory of listening to new acts, a lot of the songs had similar vocal and musical styles, creating the effect of being excessively long, but in the end this worked in his favour with the final songs of the 30-minute set standing out, and remaining with the listener well after their conclusion.

Twenty minutes, and another 20 newcomers to the crowd (that makes about 40 people in total) later, Pluto Jonze took to the stage, equipped with miniature televisions showing stylised white-noise. And a theremin. It worked out that the timing of their low-volume song-intro was very seriously compromised by the thrashing guitars and drums of the band in the Gallery Bar of the OAF. One couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for them for the first 30 seconds, before they pulled out the stops and raised the volume about 300%, effectively stamping out the competition. Beyond the lovely incorporation of the theremin, the trio used loads of keyboard and drums, creating a wonderful mix of dance and rock, welcoming many a fan to dance among the swiftly growing crowd. Following a pretty good cover of Sting’s Fields of Gold, the group played a few songs from their latest release, including the popular Meet You Under Neon. The only downfall of an otherwise remarkable 40-minutes was the overly long set-ender.

By the end of this crowd-loved group’s set, the OAF had filled to about 75% capacity, all of which generated a roaring applause. What followed was a 40 minute lapse into boredom that no amount of conversation with friends or buzz of anticipation could overcome. It is entirely possible that I’m simply an impatient sour-puss, but I felt that a 40 minute wait in such a small venue, all for the purpose of putting up some non-effectual balloons, was time wasted.

The Paper Scissors have enjoyed a lot of praise within the Australian indie scene, following the release of 2007 LP Let’s Talk More Paper Scissors. Their new album, In Loving Memory, has been surrounded by buzz among indie fans and the Australian music industry alike since its announcement last year. Unfortunately, hearing the new album for the first time live at the launch, while exciting, left me feeling slightly underwhelmed.

Cheers and whistling welcomed the main act on-stage, who began with album-opener Disco Connect, a quirky song anybody could love. The overwhelming aspect of the performance was the sheer volume of the drums, which were rallying to burst my eardrums with every beat. After listening to the two fellow Australian supports, there was the noticeable lack of an ‘Australian sound’ in Paper Scissor’s set. Singer Jai Pyne had lost his Australian accent in favour of a more American twang, similar to that of Eskimo Joe’s Kav Temperley. This is not an issue in itself, but it’s always a little blow when local acts with such potential work to sound less and less local. Fellow punters didn’t seem to mind, once again affirming my own neurosis with the performance. Set highlights of included most of the new album, in particular Lung Sum and Taller Than You Then; along with crowd favourite (and breakout single) We Don’t Walk.

In the end, The Paper Scissors’ performance was quite underwhelming. That’s not to say they didn’t deliver something enjoyable. It definitely was enjoyable, but their supporting acts definitely outperformed them.