Love Outside Andromeda,Subaudible Hum, Slipper @ TheAnnandale (06/10/06)

Thu 12th Oct, 2006 in Gig Reviews

There was a stage when letters bagging out unpunctual reviewers who had missed the opening bands filled the editorial sections of street press. If there was one thing I learnt from those letters aside from how emotional and aggressive one can portray themselves in writing, is to ask strangers how bands were if you had failed to catch them.

Due to my reliability on a transport medium which conveniently only seems to be late when I wish to board it, I was a tad late. I had missed Slipper. However, post a discussion with a lovely lady; I had gathered some helpful information in regards to Slipper’s performance.

Slipper basically consisted of a man and his guitar, playing songs in a very chilled out manner that was easy to listen to. It was pointed out to me that he was quite similar to Pete Murray and artists who are often seen in their film clips walking along the beach. My helpful stranger said he was average, and Slipper was given a nice safe 7 out of 10.

Just as I had finished thanking her for her immense help, Subaudible Hum took to the stage. Watching Subaudible Hum was like loosing your virginity and wishing you could regain your chastity so you could take a vow of celibacy and make like a nun in a convent.

I couldn’t exactly pin point why and how they had dissatisfied me so much at first, but as I watched others clap and cheer appreciatively, I tried much harder to solve the sodoku strength puzzle.

Finally, I had concluded that it was all due to familiarity. They sounded like so many other bands who all sounded the same. They sounded like so many other bands that frequent the airwaves of commercial radio such as 2day fm. They sounded like so many other bands whose names are worn on t-shirts with black backgrounds on boys who are 15 and ‘alternative’.

Some songs began with much promise, but then they went down the same path as all the others, leaving me irritated and annoyed. As I exited the room, I smirked at the sale of black t-shirts with a print that simply read ‘Subaudible Hum’.

I set aside my irritability and replaced it with pure anticipation, for I had decided to hold my purchase of Love Outside Andromeda’s new album till after a small sample of their songs. Sienna Lee began singing the opening lines of Enora in a very flashy black sequenced dress, her enchanting voice already leading me into a trance.

Sparrow followed, and I was taken. I was taken on board their vessel with a one way ticket through an emotive tunnel of self-doubt, angst and pure beauty, with the end destination sure to be a haven filled with self-assurance, appreciation and absolute awe for all things amazingly intricate and complex.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more emotionally unstable and beautifully so, Tongue like a Tether and Boxcutter Baby were the next stops. I was amazed, for when I thought Love Outside Andromeda had already showcased their full range of captivating qualities, they proved me wrong and pulled me in more and more and more. Old favourites in this set were a definite highlight, for in comparison their new numbers seemed slightly under-rehearsed.

Measuring Tape, a not so disco Love is a Battlefield cover and Past Tense (but a prayer nonetheless) followed chronologically, which saw the vessel continue steadily through the tunnel, with the end destination becoming visibly clear. Just when we thought we had arrived, one last detour was taken. Thank God for encores, for Something White and Sigmund, Razorstonefree and Juno were delivered; the ultimate climax.

Despite a few technical difficulties, the trip went as smoothly as a 747 gliding through the skyline on a sunny, cloudless day. As the lights turned on, I realised that my trip was over, and I was a happy camper. As I passed the merch table for the final time, I decided I would much prefer to go home and listen to their self-titled debut some more, rather than fork out the 25 bucks just yet.