Live Review: The Big Splash Semi Final

It’s the pointy end of The Big Splash season and the second semi-final displayed just how good bands have got to be to get this far. Pretty bloody good kinda sums it up.

Figurehead were something of a revelation. With an average of just 14 years of age, they certainly had a way with catchy, quirky and cool tuneage. Strong melodies with inventive structures were often complemented by nice outros, all the while performed in a manner that lies somewhere between laconic and enthusiastic. Their last song, No Sleep, sounded like something dreamt up by REM and Joe Jackson. Enter that thing in the WAM Song Of The Year already! Watch this space, keep an eye out, etc, etc.

The trio of FOAM filled the room with their blues grunge punk muddy swamp stuff, their three instruments seemingly working against each other but also somehow with. A lot of that mud seemed likely to come from the banks of the Wishkah, as it’s clear that Nirvana remain a heavy influence, with a lot of recognisable (and damn enjoyable) trademarks there for the trainspotters. There was some excellent self-deprecating banter to be had from vocalist/guitarist Joel Martin  (‘This gig was good enough to get my mum to come down to. It’s been a long time’.) If FOAM find a little something different in their way they could be formidable.

Jacob Diamond and his band (and a familiar-looking stand-in bassist), took to the stage for a set of floaty yet dynamic songs with an unusual uplift. Diamond then proceeded to sing a solo torch song, a brave move in the circumstances, but one pulled off with aplomb, before a bohemian groove took the set off into another delicious direction. It’s unpigeonholable music that could grace any festival stage around the world.

The High Learys were consummate from the start. That’s not surprising, given their level of experience, but what was unexpected is that they are a band in the midst of a stylistic transition.  The ‘60s (Brit) pop tingling of yore has made way for a far more psych rock approach. One felt that where The High Learys were once a realised entity, they’re now only a part of the way through their acid trip. But man, that’s some trip.

The Southwicks took to the stage wearing what looked to be  druid hoods and capes. There was a pseudo-solemn intro from singer Josh Goodacre and the band then tore into their energetic set, which sounds like those Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons songs that have ended up in ads. As half the band kept their hoods on and all were still crusading with their capes, they looked and sounded a little like the kids from the film, School Of Rock, had all grown up and stopped paying attention to Jack Black. They didn’t quite hit the straps that saw them win their heat at The Odd Fellow, but they gave their all. As with FOAM, a little more inspiration and a little less emulation could do wonders.

First placegetter on this occasion was Jacob Diamond, with The High Learys coming in second. They’ll join Shit Narnia and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets for The Big Splash Grand Final this Friday, August 14. 

Well done to all those who made the semi-finals and best of luck to the grand finalists. God bless the fucking lot of you, come to think of it.

Originally published in X-Press Magazine