Beautiful Losers/The Morning Night/Ghost Hotel/The Community Chest/KING ZOG
The Bakery
Saturday, November 22, 2014
It was a cruisy evening at The Bakery for the most recent edition of The Box Social night, which brings some of Perth’s top indie talent to the stage each month for a showcase of new music. As usual, the vibe was good, the crowd was chilled and the audience were treated to an interesting array of acts.
First up were KING ZOG, Perth’s answer to Black Sabbath. Heavy riffs paired with a bit of a stoner-metal style kept these guys from seeming too out of place on the line-up and it would be fantastic to see them again with a little more crowd energy pushing them forward.
Next to the stage were The Community Chest. This is clearly a crew of experienced musicians and their take on the indie pop sound is precise and energetic. The songwriting is particularly deft, leaving riffs dangling in the periphery of your thoughts for days. While there was fantastic chemistry between vocalists in terms of harmony, the male vocals seemed a little flat at times. In addition, some of the synth parts were somewhat jarring, but this could have been the mixing as opposed to an inelegant sound choice.
Ghost Hotel were up next with some down to earth indie rock music. Ghost Hotel have lashings of appeal, and the simple yet high energy riffs paired with the precise vocal lines spoke of an understated talent. Comparisons might seem lazy, but there was definitely something reminiscent of The Arctic Monkeys, not only in the legitimacy of the sound but also the possibility for popular acclaim.
The Morning Night followed as they always do with their cool indie pop sound. The absolute cleanliness (not sterility) of their music is always rather amazing. The high frequencies alone are so crystalline they could cut glass. Sometimes sound seems like a jigsaw, and these pieces fit pretty darn perfectly. A full and engaging set which brought the night together despite the waning crowd.
The final band for the night was the Beautiful Losers. Originally formed in 1987, the Beautiful Losers returned to the Perth scene earlier in the month at The Astor to great acclaim. It really is fantastic that these guys, headed by songwriter and lead guitarist Greg Dear, have brought themselves back into the open. Their music today feels like the product of, well, nearly 30 years of music, taking aspects of rock, blues, punk and even specklings of the electronic to create something fresh. Sometimes thoughtful and sometimes heavy guitar lines, ranging across the spectrum of tempo, were accented by a sometimes gritty and always full vocal style. Beautiful Losers are a must see for their absolutely unique style of indie rock.
The Box Social events at The Bakery are fertile grounds for cross generational, cross genre nights of music, and anyone finding themselves at a loss at this time of the month should definitely make their way down as, without a doubt, you’ll find your ears gifted with something unexpected and lush.
JAMES HANLON
