Love is All, Belles Will Ring,Flamingo Crash @ The FactoryTheatre, Sydney 03/03/07

Tue 6th Mar, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Love isn’t just all. No, it’s so much more than that. And wouldn’t you just know it from the showing of misinformed modesty on this starry-eyed Saturday night. After a rapturously sweaty set and with a heaving dancefloor, larger in heart and voice than actual numbers, chanting for an encore, Josephine Olausson, Love is All’s singer and keyboardist, stepped sheepishly out from behind the curtain. “We weren’t sure how long we should stay off-stage because usually the crowd stops and leaves if we wait too long…That’s why we don’t leave our best songs for last.”

Perhaps the fervent reception took them off-guard, but, as time has shown, eventually genuine love tends to reveal itself on even the most unsuspecting recipient. That the Gothenburg five-piece list their influences as “misinterpretations” and sound as “confusion” should also not be under-valued, as this night contained its fair share of each (including some curious Swedish to English translations attributable to Ms. Olausson). But what really did shine through was the quality of Love is All’s noise-pop repertoire and the remarkable way in which it transferred to a live setting.

Taking to the stage, the band resembled a motley crew cast together at the last moment. They were a lively lot, too – almost as colourful as that other shindig happening across town, the Mardi Gras. The crowd gathered was your typical indie fare, with the notable exception being that quite a few were prepared to dance. All in all, those in attendance were members of a special club: the all too small population to have been enlightened by Love is All’s breathtaking album of last year, Nine Times That Same Song.

On record, the band is a jumbled mixing pot of art-punk, new-wave and jangle pop; a refreshingly noisy take on classic pop stylings. Live the songs are pushed to the fore, but you could argue that it is a more of case of everything coming into prominence. The players battle to be heard over the top of each other, making for one glorious racket. Johan Lindwall’s bass throbs and, along with Markus Görsch’s rhythmic drumming, dictates the pace (generally fast, or faster), while Fredrik Eriksson on saxophone offers a real off-the-cuff sense of improvisation. An especially noteworthy aspect of Love is All live is the more evident shared vocal duties between Olausson and guitarist Nicholaus Sparding. Sparding’s deep rumble greatly contrasts with the shrill, impassioned ramblings of the diminutive frontwoman, and yet their collaboration worked on a dynamic level.

The chemistry was no more evident than on album and set opener ‘Talk Talk Talk Talk’, where Sparding and the band underpin Olausson’s manic cries of the title’s refrain with an equally frenzied chant of “one more time”. The song says almost everything about the band: relentless, ramshackle, brief but a whole heap of fun. Yet buried in the reverb and madness, the band can and do conjure up moments of distinguishable clarity and melody. Running through most songs on the album, an old song (“the first song we ever wrote”), a new song (I’m guessing) and a cover of seminal Glaswegian popsters The Pastels’ ‘Nothing to be Done’ (where Sparding took over lead vocals), Love is All displayed an acute awareness to their audience’s desires. This was as much a party as it was a live show. And the band looked like they were having just as much fun as the fans. Just like the wild shenanigans they detail on their single ‘Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up’, this was a kiss and chase affair; the band pushing and pulling the crowd all over the place; strangers became old friends etcetera (Thankfully I’m glad to report Love is All suffered no hangover consequences during their St Jerome’s Laneway Festival appearance the day after).

While Love is All reeled in the good times, the support line-up was a little bewildering. Having missed Flamingo Crash, and arrived part way through Belles Will Ring I may not be totally qualified to comment, however, a quick glance at the Laneway line-up shows a plethora of acts suitable for the job. Regardless, Belles Will Ring showed why they are the subject of so much admiration. On any other day their psychedelic rock via Jonestown meanderings would have thrilled the gathering but, alas, this was tonight. With an electrifying rendition of ‘Trying Too Hard’, Love is All bid farewell in the only fashion they know: trying, trying, trying and succeeding.