The Lovetones, Treetops @Northcote Social Club,(01/09/06)

Sun 3rd Sep, 2006 in Gig Reviews

It being the first sunny day of spring, it was appropriate that the two bands playing at the beloved Northcote Social Club were purveyors of anthemic, sunny power-pop.

Melbourne band Treetops opened the night with their take on this brand of pop, with a healthy dose of 70s rock added to the mix, to get an enjoyable hybrid sound. The vocals were swapped around a bit, and seemed quite versatile, going from summery melodies, to falsetto in the background, to a country-tinged style on a couple of songs, and some Third Eye Blind-like “Do-dos” thrown in for good measure. At one point there was even a discernable element of 90s Hanson-esque pop vocals. This comparison was, of course, helped by the shoulder-length blonde hair on two of the band members.

The Lovetones opened their set with their recent single Mantra, with its jangly guitar, and frontman Matthew Tow’s vocals reminiscent of Noel Gallagher. They branched out with what I first thought was a disappointing 10-second solo, but then later extended into a full-on instrumental rock-out. Tow’s 12-string guitar really enhances the band’s sound, giving it more depth.

Many of The Lovetones’ songs have a crisp, clear sound- you can hear the words being sung. This clarity also translates into the concise, straightforward pop nature of some of their songs. When they decide not to have a clean sound, it doesn’t matter because those instrumental sections add a certain weight to the live performance.

Pictures was a highlight. It had a spasmodic structure that lent itself to the showmanship of the band. The slowish start, with spacey keyboards and a guitar solo ascended into inspired instrumental territory, before meandering into a laid-back jam session sort of feel. By the end it had become almost epic, going from quiet section to loud again and again, like different movements in a symphony.

The Lovetones seemed more slick than Treetops in terms of their musical performance. Months of touring the world with the Brian Jonestown Massacre seem to have translated into a professional-looking live act. Unfortunately, this was disproved as their set wore on and banter between band and audience degenerated into heckling and insults.

They closed their set by announcing they would not be doing an encore- an unusual, but refreshing, move these days. The refrain of their final song was “I’m never gonna be the way that you want me,” perhaps directed at their detractors in the crowd.