Live Review: G Flip, Kezra

11 May 2018 | 12:01 pm | Nick Gray

"As the bass rumbles through our collective chests, some subtle rhythm guitar is added to the mix during what is arguably the best pop song to come out of Australia so far this year."

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Billed support act Huntly are nowhere to be seen and so bright-eyed singer-songwriter Kezra is called upon to fill in at the last minute as requested by this evening's headliner.

With only an acoustic guitar and airy nonchalance, she radiates like a Sheryl Crow disciple. Being a last minute show, Kezra is without band tonight and does struggle to draw the crowd's attention away from conversations with their mates at times. This is a shame, because her voice is sweet, sultry and effortless, and the songwriting is strong and hook-heavy. Kezra's songs could soundtrack those up-all-night sabbaticals with your crush - all torchbearer anthems, odes to acceptance and cooed kiss-offs. She puts in a solid performance, but lacks a little energy. Debut single Better Place finds the right pocket, though, and she finishes strong with an extended guitar outro and pounding stompbox.

G Flip seems to have brought her entire extended family here tonight, as well as managers and merch sellers. Having not foreseen the public response to her debut single About You, the Pitchfork-approved creator and mastermind Georgia Flipo had to enlist ex-touring buddies to form a band in four weeks in readiness for shows at SXSW. Even with these scrambles to get things in place, her show runs faultlessly and at breakneck speed.

During the opening song, Flipo wails at the top of her lungs behind her digitised drumkit called Je Ro Mo, making us feel every word. The lyrical content on offer tonight pivots sharply from lovelorn slow-jams to crushing pop-punk gems, weaving a little ocker-Aussie into the mix. She talks like the ratty little sister we all wish we had, trading barbs with her swearing drumkit and dedicating a song to Prahran nightclub Revolver, which is greeted by hollers from a front-row crew. G Flip's third track oozes a futuristic take on '70s late-night AM radio, another is a pop goldmine with half-rapped verses and a HUGE drum outro. If only someone would buy Flipo a belt - her goddamn pants keep sliding down!

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Flipo's voice can get a little pitchy at times, but the place is heaving with sweaty bodies at this point, the intimacy and venue size helping to allay these small grievances. "Sing louder, we don't know it!" heckles her endlessly supportive manager from side stage, as the song that started the mayhem of the past few months, About You, is announced. As the bass rumbles through our collective chests, some subtle rhythm guitar is added to the mix during what is arguably the best pop song to come out of Australia so far this year. An extended coda with additional drum solos and the final chorus finish us off.

G Flip's set tonight is short and concise - streamlined for maximum rowdy singalongs, quiet emotes and serotonin-draining hooks - and if follow-up singles are as good as About You, Melbourne could see the dawning of a new breed of pop star in Australia; one of self-sufficiency, mobility, creative vision and even (god forbid) a sense of humour.