Eagle and the Worm, TheFrowning Clouds, Glass Towers@ OAF, Sydney (9/9/11)

Tue 13th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Playing at the Oxford Art Factory on Friday night, Eagle and the Worm gave their audience an explosive performance brimming with energy and optimism. An eight piece outfit hailing from Melbourne, Eagle and the Worm stand apart from other up and coming indie pop bands for their bouncy brass section and unbounded enthusiasm. Delivering dance worthy brass band-esque music about having a good time, Eagle and the Worm well and truly succeeded in keeping us thoroughly entertained throughout the set.

First to take to the stage was indie rock outfit, Glass Towers. The four band members may look like they have only just finished school, yet their performance was far from amateur. Making a grungy rock sound with punchy lyrics, the band played a strong assortment of guitar driven songs. Despite apologies from vocalist Ben Hannam for his voice being, ‘a bit bad tonight’, due to sickness, he still managed to offer an impressively emphatic vocal delivery similar to that of Alex Turner. The most interesting songs were the ones that started out with smooth atmospheric guitar, leading into heavier, pounding choruses.Limo the Lion and Paint did this best, with both songs using a strong punctuated beat. Playing to a fair sized crowd, Glass Towers set a strong precedent for the following acts.

Next on were The Frowning Clouds, out to bring back the sweet sounds of pop rock from the 1960s. Sporting the trusty tambourine and shaggy Monkeys-esque hair dos, the six piece were all about playing catchy guitar riffs and singing breezy harmonies. With the crowd happily bopping along in time with the melodies and guitar tunes of songs including Purple Heart and Do Like Me, Frowning Clouds sure know how to make fun jangling music.

And finally it was Eagle and the Worm’s turn to play. When you stack eight highly excitable musicians onto a stage, three of them sporting brass instruments, there is a good chance that their music will be lost to chaos. Eagle and the Worm successfully escape this possibility with intelligent songwriting, playing cohesive and interesting compositions. That said there were still times on the night when the band fused together for dramatic raucous instrumental sections, moments which were much appreciated by the audience.

Out to play material from their debut album Good Times, the band is best known for their up-beat hits All I Know and Futureman. While the album features a good quantity of energetic tracks, this is balanced out with slower, more heartfelt numbers. The calmer songs could have lost the crowd’s attention on Friday night, yet Eagle and the Worm still managed to deliver these pieces with great intensity. Lead singer Jarrad Brown’s vocals are especially well suited to the more soul-bearing songs, letting each note drip with emotion. Doing this best on the song Come Home Love, Eagle and the Worm proved that they can do much more than play jangling pop tunes.

Highlights of the night included Futureman and Estranged, truly making the most of the band’s ability to play jamming, infectious music. The band’s cover of Rolling Stones’ Rocks Off also stood as a favourite moment of the show, with this making the Stones’ influence on Eagle and the Worm’s sound highly evident.

Playing the much loved All I Know for encore, the band gave it their all, with the brass section even running out into the crowd to play solos. To finish off the band gave a nod to the easy charm of pop music, delivering a wonderful rendition of Janelle Monáe’s Tightrope. Playful and a whole lot of fun, the three bands treated us to a night of great music at the Oxford Art Factory.