Carter Rollins, AshleighMannix @ The Front, Canberra(29/9/11)

Sat 1st Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Anyone who happened to be walking by The Front on this very cold and rainy Thursday night could have spent a mere moment thinking they were elsewhere. The sounds escaping the small but crowded room were better suited to a sunny afternoon by the beach. Luckily, both the crowd and the artists were willing to work with what they had. So it became the sounds of the coast on a warm summer’s day wrapped in scarves and sheltered from the rain.

First to bring some sun into the gloomy looking venue was folk/pop songstress, Ashleigh Mannix. This fresh faced singer-songwriter blew the place up with her guitar in hand, as she belted out tune after tune in her country-esque, keep you coming back for more kind of sound. Mannix showcased songs from her yet to be released EP, From the City, including, Give in to Me, The Girl’s Gone Wild, Isabelle and the heartbreaking tune and clear crowd favourite, My Lungs are Caving In. Another stand out moment of the set was in the form of a song, thus far, untitled, inspired by a request that Mannix write something different to her norm. What proceeded was a slower paced piece that vocally was understated yet was sung with the utmost passion and conviction.

Passing the spotlight over, it was hard to believe that anyone could follow such an act but the boys from Carter Rollins sure proved that nothing is impossible. Justin Carter and Johnny Rollins are just two young men from Torquay, Victoria taking their sunshine around the world with them. Their unique style of surf rock comes inclusive with songs of hard times, good times and tunes that won’t easily escape your memory. They also showcased a new recording, inspired by and written in Japan, Onjuku Sun. The crowd was treated to the title track as well as Peace Bomb, Stepping Stones, The News, The Nile and Temptation, before they finished the night with their new single, Valerie. Other highlights included a song written in the midst of The Black Saturday bush fires in Victoria, a heart wrenching story of those left behind. This of course being a change from the usual sounds of the season slowly encroaching, summer.

Overall the night was flawless, the music was impeccable, the crowd couldn’t be more impressed and the talent appreciated them also. They were thankful for an intimate venue where an audience is actually listening, but you’d be crazy not to want to hear their performances and take in such talent.