Live Review: The Love Junkies, Super Best Friends, Psychic Sun

Locals Psychic Sun kicked off proceedings with some drudgey tunes, powering through a heavy, grunge-infused set. The vocals were drowned by the sheer thickness of the aggressive music; however they lacked the conviction to really fit the grunge mould.

Canberra’s Super Best Friends delivered some furious, high energy punk to get the crowd’s attention. It was fast and angsty, and the trio didn’t leave without giving Round And Round a spin, reminding us that we should go re-watch the hilarious viral music video of Aussie pollies doing dumb things to punk music.

The Love Junkies chose to silence us with a wall of sound, launching straight into their hard-hitting, fuzzed-out set. The trio captured the essence of ‘90s grunge music, executing its brashness with complete conviction whilst also balancing out this harshness with hooky melodies and bluesy undertones.

They dipped into their back catalogue to treat us to the pulsing and seductive gem that is Baby Come Home, the volatile Oxymoron and the heart-wrenching Maybelene.

Lead singer Mitch McDonald nailed the transition from full-blown, powerful screeching to seductive, melodic whining, along with the rest of the band, who together seemed to effortlessly take punters from headbanging to hip-shaking as their set wove in and out of their epic fusion of grunge and blues.

Staying true to the name of the tour, The Love Junkies hashed out a few new tracks from recent LP, Blowing On The Devil’s Strumpet, including the furious Mausoleum and inviting Elma Street, closing their enthralling set with explosive track, Chemical Motivation and the hook-laden Television.

The raw energy The Love Junkies imbued into their set punched punters in the face, and their emphatic delivery made us want to go in for more, convincing the crowd that the ‘90s aren’t dead and that grunge will live on.