Deep West @ Four5Nine
w/ The Spring Peaks, Trails End, Turtle Bay Television
Friday, June 23, 2017
In any given corner of the local music scene there’s any number of scenes within a scene. Take Perth band The Chlorines, who release their debut album in a week and starred at the recent RTRFM Fremantle Winter Music Festival.
The members in and around that band have been countless others, past and present. Rich Widow, MORALS, Trails End and now Deep West, just to name a few. Two of these were on display at Four5Nine at the Rosemount Hotel last Friday, including Deep West for an EP launch and first ever gig.
Turtle Bay Television opened the evening in fine fashion. Their sound was a unique blend of post-punk and dream pop with 90s guitar lines. Subtle synth patterns were weaved into the tracks as frontman Thomas Cockram’s deep and expressive voice demonstrated both conviction and a sense of playfulness strolling somewhere between Joy Division and the Magnetic Fields. Recent single Horror Movie was a highlight of the set, but in truth the rest of their songs were just as enjoyable.
Led by frontman Louis Best’s honeyed voice, Trails End were the discovery of the night for this writer. There was ambition at play as guitars and keys built around the songs. Closer Johnson Family, with a nod to William Burroughs, grew to a big finale as lead guitarist (and Chlorines frontman) Owen de Marchi climbed the neck of his axe for a satisfying pay off.
The Spring Peaks are going places fast, and have quickly moved from opening bills to headlining their own launches and, on this night, playing main support. It’s easy to hear why in the jangle of their indie pop with nods to Mac DeMarco’s guitar tones and Real Estate’s sense of melody. Supermarket was the familiar hit but it was closer Strung Out that provided the most energy – look out for it on an EP co-produced by Sam Ford (Sugar Army, Gunns) coming soon.
An unknown quantity live, headliner Deep West kicked off with an acoustic set from songwriter and frontman Brayden Edwards. Despite revealing this was due to the band having a limited repertoire, it was a nice touch given this was Edwards’ night. Delving into his back catalogue for a couple of tracks from previous band Rich Widow, what was immediately obvious was how his deep, rich voice carried the songs, particularly in these stripped back arrangements.
With Trails End joining as a backing band soon after, Edwards took us through his self-titled EP start to finish from there (in a nice touch it was being given away free on the door). A mix of Australiana, Americana and good old fashioned FM radio twang a la The War On Drugs was present on opener The Standard Model.
His best track Kuranda followed, and laying on the Australian charm it told the tale of a far north Queensland wedding in the titular town of the title. It’s a stunning song, and segued nicely into an extended piano intro for Feeding Time, a ballad that featured lovely backing vocals from Trails End frontman Best.
The best was saved for last however, with Diversion really showing off the loneliness in Edwards’ observational lyrics (“My brother lives in Queensland/ My sister lives down south”), carried by an incredibly deep voice that stirred the soul. At times it was like The National’s Matt Berninger fronting The Drones.
Pretty good for a first gig.
HARVEY RAE
Photos by Anthony Jackson
