Live Review: Underground Lovers, Silver Sircus

There's been a surefire amount of gigs on over this fair week covering just about any genre you can imagine. At The Zoo tonight it is pure '90s-era dream pop and alternative rock headed up by reunited Melbourne group, Underground Lovers. 

Silver Sircus open proceedings and are greeted by a small, yet enthusiastic audience. Being the only support, the group get a sizeable set time and the music and performance itself is in some ways very different to tonight's headliner. Silver Sircus's underlying elements of drama and cabaret make it a bit of an oddball pairing, but they pull it off and with style, giving a unique performance.

The crowd has increased somewhat by the time Underground Lovers hit the stage; the room is about one-third full and it's a generally older audience, one that's nonetheless enthusiastic to see the group play. The group themselves give off a vibe that they have moved onto different things since the bands major heyday in the '90s, still the performance they deliver is both technically proficient and a marvel to watch, consuming you as it progresses.

Two major elements enhance tonight's show. The first is the job done with the lighting. It's simply a dazzle that really sets the mood with live projections that range from Asian businesswomen being converted into a distorted mess to some really great psychedelic visuals, not even counting the various other strobes and tinkers that go around the room and never miss a beat. The other factor is that the sound is great for the group, with a noticeable amount of volume backing it and a bit of low-end oomph for good measure. New track St. Germaine is a prime example and really resonates with the audience. Other new highlights on show are the Low-like Spaces and Au Pair, which sounds a bit like a melodramatic version of Regurgitator, while the oldies such as the appropriately-titled dream pop mecca Dream it Down are still some of the group's best work. 

They unsurprisingly emerge for an encore and play Takes You Back which comes across as more 'out there' in the live realm as opposed to on record and feels like a real layered affair, gradually building as it progresses. Closer I Was Right, meanwhile, could easily be a Goo-era Sonic Youth B-side or be from any of Yo La Tengo's releases to date. This comparison aside, it's the highlight of the night and really encapsulates the evening well as the group departs the stage, leaving behind them a satisfied audience who have no regrets about the ticket price.