Kyaarn, Jimmy Junk Heart, Oscar Galt @ The Workers Club, Melbourne (15/04/2014)
I can’t think of something which makes me happier than watching people play music and enjoy themselves. Seriously, go to any show, watch someone up on stage put in the work to play some music for you, and do your best not to appreciate it at some level. You’ll find it difficult, or at the very least you’ll end up feeling like a dick, and rightly so. Whether you’re playing at The Workers Club, Revolver, The Evelyn, or one of the other dozens of venues around suburban Melbourne, I think everyone can agree that we’re truly lucky to have venues that’ll put up a local band they know nothing about, purely to support emerging talent.
Starting off the evening was the grunge-come-noise-rock crooning of Oscar Galt. Oscar’s performance was probably the most interesting of the whole evening, and I saw a lot of potential in what he was trying to achieve. Sure, there are obvious stylistic comparisons to be made to equally raspy vocalists such as Kurt Cobain, but Galt’s also owes a lot to his backing band, with fantastically apocalyptic guitar tones curtsy of his lead guitarist, and a thumping drum and bass section.
While Galt’s vocals and guitar playing were usually up to par, he could be a bit uneven in his delivery, at times flitting between a rather flat spoken word delivery, and a raspy energetic yell which honestly had much more personality. Songs like A Train Is Coming were sweet, if slightly uninventive, but I applaud Galt’s willingness to step back from the noise and let the quiet creep back in for much of the track. Props also go to the lovely female vocals, both harmonising, and wailing; and the best song title of the evening Fuck You, I Hate Everything, And I Want To Kill Myself, a fittingly angsty opening track.
Jimmy Junk Heart was unfortunately a slightly more mixed bag. Real name James Hanson, it’s obvious Jimmy is greatly inspired by the now ubiquitous Tame Impala, with plenty of warm reverbed guitar tones making their way into the mix, and a trademark loose-blues rock hanging in the air. Unfortunately Jimmy’s songwriting felt a little underdeveloped, with many songs repeating far too much, a not a whole lot going out outside of a few vocal melodies and some undermined guitar leads. The track My Girl, She’s Away was a treat however, sounding as though it’d be pulled straight out of a Quentin Tarantino film, and was the best song performed by the band that evening. James has some great ideas, but at times resigns himself to repeating the ones he’s already had, rather than digging deeper, which he really ought to do, because when he does, there’s a great groove waiting, or in the case of Strange Mood, a killer jam.
Closing out the night was Kyaarn, a group which obviously wasn't seeking to waste any time. Launching straight into their set, they were loud, confident, but in my opinion, just a tad too ‘safe’. Instrumentally, Kyaarn performed well, benefitting greatly from the best drummer of the evening, but as far as their songwriting went, it was solid, but there weren’t too many idea’s in their that deviated outside of the norm when thinking about ‘alternative rock music’. Props to the drummer again, who apparently learned the band’s set the day before, which is always an impressive feat. Regardless of how safe Kyaarn plays by the water, it’s obviously working out for them, as they delivered the most consistent set of the evening, with plenty of confidence to boot, or at least enough where they were the only one’s to ask people to move closer to the stage (seriously, what’s the deal with people standing 10 metres away?).
All in all, a great night at The Worker's Club once again, and honestly, it brings a tear to the eye seeing these little birds (bands?) taking off in the local Melbourne music scene.
Nick Kennedy
Starting off the evening was the grunge-come-noise-rock crooning of Oscar Galt. Oscar’s performance was probably the most interesting of the whole evening, and I saw a lot of potential in what he was trying to achieve. Sure, there are obvious stylistic comparisons to be made to equally raspy vocalists such as Kurt Cobain, but Galt’s also owes a lot to his backing band, with fantastically apocalyptic guitar tones curtsy of his lead guitarist, and a thumping drum and bass section.
While Galt’s vocals and guitar playing were usually up to par, he could be a bit uneven in his delivery, at times flitting between a rather flat spoken word delivery, and a raspy energetic yell which honestly had much more personality. Songs like A Train Is Coming were sweet, if slightly uninventive, but I applaud Galt’s willingness to step back from the noise and let the quiet creep back in for much of the track. Props also go to the lovely female vocals, both harmonising, and wailing; and the best song title of the evening Fuck You, I Hate Everything, And I Want To Kill Myself, a fittingly angsty opening track.
Jimmy Junk Heart was unfortunately a slightly more mixed bag. Real name James Hanson, it’s obvious Jimmy is greatly inspired by the now ubiquitous Tame Impala, with plenty of warm reverbed guitar tones making their way into the mix, and a trademark loose-blues rock hanging in the air. Unfortunately Jimmy’s songwriting felt a little underdeveloped, with many songs repeating far too much, a not a whole lot going out outside of a few vocal melodies and some undermined guitar leads. The track My Girl, She’s Away was a treat however, sounding as though it’d be pulled straight out of a Quentin Tarantino film, and was the best song performed by the band that evening. James has some great ideas, but at times resigns himself to repeating the ones he’s already had, rather than digging deeper, which he really ought to do, because when he does, there’s a great groove waiting, or in the case of Strange Mood, a killer jam.
Closing out the night was Kyaarn, a group which obviously wasn't seeking to waste any time. Launching straight into their set, they were loud, confident, but in my opinion, just a tad too ‘safe’. Instrumentally, Kyaarn performed well, benefitting greatly from the best drummer of the evening, but as far as their songwriting went, it was solid, but there weren’t too many idea’s in their that deviated outside of the norm when thinking about ‘alternative rock music’. Props to the drummer again, who apparently learned the band’s set the day before, which is always an impressive feat. Regardless of how safe Kyaarn plays by the water, it’s obviously working out for them, as they delivered the most consistent set of the evening, with plenty of confidence to boot, or at least enough where they were the only one’s to ask people to move closer to the stage (seriously, what’s the deal with people standing 10 metres away?).
All in all, a great night at The Worker's Club once again, and honestly, it brings a tear to the eye seeing these little birds (bands?) taking off in the local Melbourne music scene.
Nick Kennedy