Live Review: New Gods, Valentine

It might be Budget night across Australia, but there sure seem to be a plethora of gigs on about town tonight. Given its proximity to a tram stop, and combined with the cold-as-fuck weather this evening, the warm, wooden interior of the Workers Club seems as good a place as any to escape the drudgery of number-crunching, and settle into some quality local live music.

Valentiine are a little late coming on, but they're totally worth the wait. The three-piece, all-girl band come standard with the grunge attitude first pioneered over 20 years ago, and they fucking own it. Wearing the influences of Nirvana, Pixies and at times the Smashing Pumpkins on their collective shoulder, they exude confidence and the dark charisma that was born in that era. Singing lyrics like “break your bones/So you're never gonna leave me” and “I feel like God/In my Chuck's/On the bathroom floor”, singer Vanessa V channels a shitload of Courtney Love's angst, and delivers into her microphone with aplomb. Although plenty in the audience are more interested in each other's Facebook statuses, Valentiine provide one hell of a set for those paying attention.

It seems a scattered start for New Gods, but once all five members of the band are on stage, a sense of growing cohesion spreads across the room. Leaving aside all previous and/or side projects, New Gods are still making their way in the world, and like the awkward baby giraffe trying to get up, the band are still finding their feet. Whether this month-long residency at the Workers Club is a deliberate attempt to help hone those live chops is a question that probably only the band's members can answer, but one thing's for certain; everyone in the room tonight should count themselves lucky, because the potential for New Gods to go next level is epic.

A drum modulator, pitch-perfect harmonies, and a goddamn alto sax solo all take their place within the set, all the while frontman Dominic Byrne wails into his microphone with conviction. It's as though the band deliberately try to span as many genres as possible while maintaining a constant feel to their set, and as a result it seems like a collection of really great songs as opposed to a killer 45-minute set. Many of the songs seem to be written for performance on a bigger stage, which hopefully bodes well to those who can't get out on a Tuesday night in May.

The sound and lights are once again perfect – helloooo, glitter ball! – and this ski chalet-lookin' place is becoming a definite favourite. New Gods do it justice.