Live Review: Sleepmakeswaves, A Lonely Crowd, Toehider

It's a dreary Sunday evening outside, but reclining on one of the Evelyn's leather couches is anything but miserable, as locals Toehider take to the stage. In acoustic mode due to the absence of their drummer, the three remaining members perch high on stools and translate their usual Panic! At The Disco leanings to more of a Dashboard Confessional-type sound. Toehider enjoy themselves, singer Mike Mills nailing any note he chooses – no matter how high – which is quite a task given his seated, cross-legged posture.

Next up on tonight's impressive bill is another Melbourne crew, A Lonely Crowd. Fronted by the enigmatic Xen Havales, the four-piece prove the epitome of genre-jumpers (in a totally good way). Havales channels all sorts of Kate Bush-inspired vocal gymnastics, singing with unabashed enthusiasm. She has obviously been trained to make the most of every breath she inhales, and prowls the stage seductively. The band is well-rehearsed, and their prog-rock stylings throb from funky shit to hard-out metal riffs. Paired with Havales' voice – not to mention her xylophone and flute, at times – it's an odd combination, yet one that works surprisingly well.

After a brief interlude during which the DJ drops everything from Crazy In Love to the Game Of Thrones title theme, the lights go out and the decent-sized crowd prepare themselves for the main event.

Sleepmakeswaves are in the throes of a huge national tour and tonight is the second of their two Melbourne shows. The four-piece have dug out for themselves a reputation as an intriguing, impressive live act whose instrumental pieces ebb and flow like other bands of their ilk, Sigur Rós and Explosions In The Sky. One major difference between sleepmakeswaves and those two groups though, is the tenacious, hard-metal edge the Sydney band has.

About four tracks in, they introduce a laptop as a fifth instrument, adding glitch beats and white noise to the band's already densely layered sound. It complements drummer Tim Adderley's ferocious work behind the kit; in fact, watching his sweat and sticks fly is worth the price of admission alone. What's more, it appears he plays with his eyes closed the whole time, at one with his drums and cymbals. Guitarists Otto Wicks-Green and Jonathan Khor trade riffs and beautiful melodies, their passion rising with the crescendos of the band's repertoire. A bald, bearded guy nearly two metres in height, bassist Alex Wilson strikes an imposing figure centre stage as he pulses the band along, pausing only intermittently to say “thank you” into the otherwise defiant, unused microphone that stands onstage.

An earnest, honest band, it might've taken some time to carve out their niche, but sleepmakeswaves have certainly found some more members for their tribe tonight.