Live Review: The Drones, Batpiss

Kicking off a night of loud guitars and high energy were Melbourne's Batpiss. Knowing what the crowd was here for, the power trio were more than capable of delivering it; it's crusty, messy and fierce punk rock, yes, but with enough slower passages and droning, drenched-in-fuzz aesthetics to keep it from ever sounding stale. Over their short set, the band showcased why their recent Biomass album is as exciting as it is, building whirling nightmarish jams out of angular guitar lines and Big Black-reminiscent noise rockers. For all the anger and energy, top tier song crafting still managed to shine though.

Album anniversary and nostalgia tours are more in vogue than ever today, and these tours are constantly walking the line between worthy fan service and self-indulgence — no surprises for guessing The Drones fell into the former.   

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of their landmark Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By record, Gareth Liddiard and crew wasted no time reminding everyone why they're the critical and audience darlings they are. Kicking off with what is arguably their career-defining song, Shark Fin Blues, The Drones were in boisterous, noisy perfection from the word go. The risk in opening with such an iconic tune means the rest of the set has to match this level; an intimidating task for the average band perhaps, but this is The Drones. The impossibly perfect mix of Liddiard's rock swagger, the so-loose-they're-tight interplay between the band members and the sheer damn energy of the songs served as another mark as the band being one of the best in the country.

With an evening of feedback-driven, high-octane and emotional rockers pulled primarily from Wait Long By The River... there was no escaping the fact that The Drones are as essential to the Australian music scene today as when they first wowed critics over a decade ago.