Stonefield, Fire! Santa Rosa,Fire!, Glass Towers @ OxfordArt Factory, Sydney (22/9/11)

Wed 28th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

We might all be getting older, but Byron Bay’s Glass Towers are probably going to keep on staying the same age with the way that they’re going. If you’re unfamiliar with them, consider the fact that these guys could have easily had the working-title band name of “The Yves Klein Kooky Wombat-Dinosaurs” without a hint of irony. This is a band that has meticulously studied every band that either NME or Triple J have labelled as cool in the past half-decade or so and more or less mirrored them right down to the faux-British accents. It’s not all entirely bad, but Glass Towers are derivative to the point of it being distracting. They are in need of a rabbit to pull out of their hats, otherwise they risk progressing directly to the Sanity bargain bin rather than to the headline spots they so clearly desire.

What a week it’s been for Fire! Santa Rose, Fire! On Friday, the band opened a sold-out gig at the Metro for NZ sensation Kimbra, and played main support to Eskimo Joe the night before this gig. It seems to all be finally paying off for the Adelaide sextet, who have a refined and notably textured sound that experiments freely within pop’s wider spectrum. It’s not quite at home in any set pigeon-hole, transitioning from haunting soundscapes to swirling jazz patterns – sometimes within the same song – and this in itself is where the bulk of the band’s appeal lies. Caitlin Duff’s vocals are rich and central to the music itself, often layered through an automatic harmoniser and a loop pedal but maintaining a natural warmth and tone to her voice throughout. F!SR,F! are clearly onto something good, and the warm audience response indicates that they will be making impact upon their potential a lot sooner than you think.

Some bands take decades to add things like “Glastonbury appearance,” “national tour” and “playing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers” to their CV. Victorian siblings Stonefield have done it within the course of roughly eighteen months – and half of them are still in high school. You’ve heard it all before, though – these child stars are all meant to crash and burn, right? Wrong, mister: if tonight’s headlining set is anything to go by, then there’s a very strong chance that the little women of Stonefield are here to stay.

At such an early stage of their careers, Stonefield are still figuring out exactly what works for them. The 70s-flavoured driving rock that comes with a mix of their parent’s record collection and their youthful exuberance certainly provides some highlights: the sizzling Black Water Rising gets a cheer of recognition and early favourite Foreign Lover showcases the band’s sense of dynamics, slinking and slithering through the verses and practically soaring during the wordless howl-along chorus. Of particular note is the unreleased Move Out of My Shadow, a meat-and-potatoes headbanger with each Findlay – drummer Amy, keyboardist Hannah, bassist Holly and guitarist Sarah – getting a chance to show off their pipes. Their now-obligatory Zeppelin homage in the form of Whole Lotta Love certainly doesn’t go astray, either.

Few missteps were made in this set – if any faults were to be pointed out, it would probably be in the form of the setlist. Slower EP tracks such as Walk My Way and Chase the Sun are fine on their own, but placed in-between the band’s rockier cuts and they just come across as boring – certainly not what they deserve. An encore following possibly the best closer they could have asked for in Through the Clover was also a misstep – as fun as their rendition of Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride is, it seemed strange that a band still trying to find their identity would leave the crowd humming someone else’s song. It wasn’t made any better by the drunk girl on tambourine pulled up from the crowd, either.

Still, any and all faults were easily forgivable when one thinks of just how righteous Through the Clover sounded. With Amy’s bluesier vocal scale and easily Sarah’s best guitar work, their packed Sydney crowd could not have been more enthusiastic about their scorching rendition of the track that first gained them popularity not too long ago. It served as a reminder that the good certainly outweighed the bad tonight, as well as a reminder that Stonefield put on a energetic and thoroughly enjoyable rock show. As far as “child stars” go, it’s safe to say they won’t end up like Aaron Carter just yet.