Sugarpuss/ These Winter Nights/ Thee Gold Blooms/ Feyek
The Bakery
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Creativity was once again manifested in physical form on the stage of The Bakery for the launch of Tired Lion’s new EP All We Didn’t Know. Packing a sweet and accessible sound, a decent crowd gathered for the occasion and for once the scene deemed the music worthy of a little bit of movement.
Local duo Feyek began the night with a rambling journey through ‘verbed out chords and random, often imprecise, plucks. Their music, while rather repetitive, did have a meditative and soothing quality. Small variations and embellishments were the saving grace of an otherwise dull, self absorbed set by two guitarists with their heads firmly turned away from the audience.
Thee Gold Blooms injected some life into the situation with a soaring lead male vocalist. Possessing a swell and innocent sound, tinges of high paced rock and roll coloured the set nicely. Even though spring seems loathe to make itself known, Thee Gold Blooms were ready to sprout and brought the vague smell of summer to the venue with a fun brand of boppy surf pop.
Despite the steadily increasing temperature, These Winter Nights proved that their talent and stage presence are not affected by the weather, once again putting on a quality show for the evening revellers. The lead singer has a vocal tone brimming with mid-range masculinity, but also capable of hitting seemingly impossible highs with a clear, almost theremin-like quality.
The energy was steadily rising and Sugarpuss were ready with the goods. Armed with a quiver of intricate, sometimes even psychedelic compositions, these lads transitioned smoothly between a lovely, airy sound to something with a heavier edge. Feedback-fuelled excitement made way for a sleazy, washed out eastern vibe and their physical presence on stage helped to further boost the crowd.
The time had come and Tired Lion cruised to the stage with an ineffable coolness that was surpassed only by the lead singer’s unassuming sexiness. Frontwoman Sophie Hopes’ powerful vocals were a foot-stomping contrast to strong and wailing guitars and an extraordinarily professional standard was set as they took us through the grungy and riff-driven titles of their fresh EP. The audience was gifted with moments of break out heaviness to which they responded energetically, indicating that perhaps these moments were a little too sparse for the inebriated late night crowd. While additional variations in tempo would not have gone astray, an attention grabbing and dark edge was the connecting thread between the tunes and they completed their set to an explosion of applause.
Tired Lion proved that they are well deserving of their place amongst the evolving ranks of Perth’s dynamic music scene, and the work and thought put into this release was not only obvious, but resulted in a seriously entertaining experience. Thankfully, the lion broke the stereotype and decided not to sleep tonight, as it’s roar was something not to be missed.
_JAMES HANLON
