Here’s a riddle for you: What would you do with an acoustic guitar, a cello, and a drum kit ripe for spanking? Sound like Fall Electric, that’s what you’d do. Their instrumentals hang heavy on your eyelids and it’s very easy to get lost on their journey, but where are they leading us? They have a sort-of-uniqueness about them, and all that connotes. But where does an idea end, and a band begin? I’d sooner stay home and take the diazepam directly. Of course, I’m certain this band almost definitely did not have my infinitesimal attention span in mind when they composed these numbers.
There’s a certain buzz around Eleventh He Reaches London. Is this emo? Or some indie prog-rock love-child? Either way the kids love ‘em, with the gathered crowd exponentially bigger than that of the preceding band. Maybe it’s because four of the five band members look like they went to high school, or the ability of vocalist Ian Lenton to oscillate between histrionic screaming and a brooding melodic snarl. They seem to have found a sound that they are comfortable with, yet they give off the impression that they have a long list of places still to go. Rather than get stuck in the grooves, Eleventh have a few tricks up their sleeve to mix up an otherwise epic sound. My personal highlight of the set was a section towards the end of the set where the guitars all faded and drummer Mark Donaldson held down the fort for a while. But I’m a sucker for drums.
Okay so you’re a little bit hungry, but broke and have no food… then someone offers you a bit heaping serve of your favourite meal! And then dessert! Well, Streetlight are that good. The crowd had gathered before the band took to the stage, which indicates to me that there are a lot of people around who sure as hell know what’s good for them. It was a gathering you might expect to see for a long-serving interstate band, or a homecoming of local-kids-done-good. But Streetlight have only been together two years, and only operating with the current line up since January this year. As we all know, they took out the Next Big Thing 2006 gong, and they are currently putting all the glitter and bows on some species of mini-album. So I guess they’ll be on Letterman quite soon or something.
The sextet has a captivating and frenetic stage presence: there is jumping dancing screaming hugging but most importantly – there is rocking. Emerging from the chaotic intensity of the performance aspect of the set are well-written and lively alt-rock songs that would probably still kick it with a less rambunctious delivery. Vocalist Le Craft has no problem flexing his vocal muscle, weaving an almost effeminate, breathy delivery through the more oft-encountered and ever popular nu-indie accent. And they have a violin. Hot Damn.
Towards the end of the set came the reason we were all there – to launch single Attack That Gentleman into the sonic stratosphere. They unleashed the song after a meandering introduction to some heads nodding in recognition but the energy and momentum wasn’t sustained quite as well as it had through the rest of their set. But for a debut single, that’s almost what you want. It hints at longevity rather than a fast-spinning flash in the pan. They clearly are focussed on developing a substantial catalogue rather than investing all their resources into one track.
Streetlight is a high energy band, with high energy songs. It is the sort of band you want to keep in your pocket. Their songs work tremendously live, you could play them at your next party or just listen to them alone in your room. Even after the launch was over, the ghost of Streetlight haunted the venue, channelling itself through amps’ after-twelve-violent-indie-dancing crowd. I am now officially a fan. Hell Ya.
