Dream Rimmy, Lanark, Puck
The Rosemount Hotel
Friday, June 20, 2014
Stars aligned and cast cosmic radiance upon the trendy culture-rich streets of North Perth as the mèlomane masses of Perth gathered together to photosynthesise the celestial sonic tunes of Mt Mountain and hopefully catch some tracks from their recently-released EP. It was there, amongst the neon-dappled bricks of the Rosemount Hotel that the psychedelic rockers chose to showcase their jams alongside some of Perth’s hottest up-and-coming experimental rock acts.
Warming up the crowd with their dream pop instrumentality and detached, cosmonautical vocal style, Dream Rimmy defied expectations and scatological poetic justice by playing a tight, polished set, full of clanging guitar and groovy rhythms. Vox chick, Ali Fintoff, and her backing band did occasionally suffer from wobbly pitching, throwing off some of the male/female harmonies and Vinny B’s synth failed to strike a balance with the band. However, the songs were exceptionally well-written, full of catchy riffs and committed musicianship.
Forlorn post rock navel gazers, Lanark, were next up to the bat. Sonically disparate from their acid jam contemporaries, the affectionately nicknamed ‘Nark boys’ set was characterised by darker musical hues and more desolate lyricism. The push/pull rhythmic pulse of the band’s music was intuitive, though occasionally erratic, while frontman, Damian Diggs, shined at falsetto pitching but was awkwardly flat during the more naturally sung verses. The band’s deft use of dynamics in songs such as Able Oust – from thunderous rock riffs to heavy-hearted lulls – was one of the main musical attractions, impelled by frantic guitar work and brewed in a syrupy well of reverb.
From sombre to stoner, the night progressed to three-piece toke rock outfit, Puck. With songs hounded by carnivorous, growling bass, laconic vocals from drummer, Liam Young, and repetitive, dazed guitar work, the set was noisier and more serrated than the other acts, which threw off some audience members. The muddy, overdriven, wall of sound approach seemed to meld perfectly with the Rosemount’s amplification capabilities, making for a huge, swirling sound.
Headline act, Mt Mountain began their great sun dance with a handful of brand new untitled tunes with a loose, psychedelic jam vibe. The long, coyote-howl vocals of Steve Bailey, a spiralling maelstrom of reverb and grooving distortion-laden guitar riffs, had the band in rare form. There was a sense of the all or nothing in the band’s performance – a sense of journey and destination in the songwriting that put the band, for one shining night, at the apex of Perth’s psychedelic scene. Playing three songs from the EP, the bluesy jam Tomorrow, the cresting My Love and finishing with perhaps the most radio-friendly number, She Runs, fans were able to get a good taste of the release in a live setting.
The night’s lineup ultimately pulled off a rare showcase of the emotional spectrum of experimental rock. From the sharp-toothed stoner jams, to disconsolate rumblings, the airy pop tunes. It was an odd mix that didn’t always proceed naturally, but ultimately managed to pull a large cross-section of the musical community. And as the inkblot sky darkened and the waning crescent moon moved midnight west, the punters went to their after parties or warm cosy beds respectively, happily and maybe a little drunkenly.
SHAUN COWE
