Live Review: Daughter, Little Green Cars

Like this evening's headline act, Little Green Cars are in Australia for Byron Bay's Splendour In Grass. The Irish outfit's music is characterised by a head-bopping 4/4 beat and multiple harmonies. Throughout Big Red Dragon and Harper Lee the band demonstrate with finesse their obvious vocal abilities, however, during tonight's performance, the guitars sound a tad lacklustre.

Daughter take the stage and a giddy Elena Tonra thanks the crowd for being here. This continues, profusely, all night. Daughter seem to have carved out a niche that perfectly combines the musical styles of Alt-J and the XX with a bit of Florence & The Machine thrown in as well. What makes Daughter different however, is their ability to create powerful lyrics and deliver them like a punch to the guts. They best demonstrate this with their track Smother that ends with the line, “I wish I stayed inside my mother/Never to come out.”

The crowd, needless to say, is incredibly supportive, hanging on every note and even giving a loud, encouraging cheer when Tonra fumbles during the most intimate moment of Youth. Nevertheless, the lack of banter between songs and the introspective vibe of Daughter's music sees a heavy silence descend upon the crowd at the end of each track. This creates a strange, if not hostile, vibe in the venue, with many unsure if they are even allowed to talk lest they incur the wrath of a fellow punter who will have their night utterly ruined by overhearing non-Daughter-related banter. Even guitarist Igor Haefeli remarks, “You guys are eerily quiet”. Daughter close off the set with a surprisingly high-energy rendition of Home. Drummer Remi Aguilella comes into his own and clearly enjoys being able to finally play at a speed greater than 60 bpm.

For the encore, Daughter slow everything down again with the intricate In the Shallows. They finish the night by finally succumbing to the numerous requests for their cover of Daft Punk's Get Lucky. While Daughter's set comes off as a bit samey, with a plethora of similar-sounding songs (each a perfect break-up track in its own special way),

Like this evening's headline act, Little Green Cars are in Australia for Byron Bay's Splendour In Grass. The Irish outfit's music is characterised by a head-bopping 4/4 beat and multiple harmonies. Throughout Big Red Dragon and Harper Lee the band demonstrate with finesse their obvious vocal abilities, however, during tonight's performance, the guitars sound a tad lacklustre.

Daughter take the stage and a giddy Elena Tonra thanks the crowd for being here. This continues, profusely, all night. Daughter seem to have carved out a niche that perfectly combines the musical styles of Alt-J and the XX with a bit of Florence & The Machine thrown in as well. What makes Daughter different however, is their ability to create powerful lyrics and deliver them like a punch to the guts. They best demonstrate this with their track Smother that ends with the line, “I wish I stayed inside my mother/Never to come out.”

The crowd, needless to say, is incredibly supportive, hanging on every note and even giving a loud, encouraging cheer when Tonra fumbles during the most intimate moment of Youth. Nevertheless, the lack of banter between songs and the introspective vibe of Daughter's music sees a heavy silence descend upon the crowd at the end of each track. This creates a strange, if not hostile, vibe in the venue, with many unsure if they are even allowed to talk lest they incur the wrath of a fellow punter who will have their night utterly ruined by overhearing non-Daughter-related banter. Even guitarist Igor Haefeli remarks, “You guys are eerily quiet”. Daughter close off the set with a surprisingly high-energy rendition of Home. Drummer Remi Aguilella comes into his own and clearly enjoys being able to finally play at a speed greater than 60 bpm.

For the encore, Daughter slow everything down again with the intricate In the Shallows. They finish the night by finally succumbing to the numerous requests for their cover of Daft Punk's Get Lucky. While Daughter's set comes off as a bit samey, with a plethora of similar-sounding songs (each a perfect break-up track in its own special way), the band's large and devoted following demonstrate that they are clearly one of those acts that fulfil a niche and give people exactly what they are looking for.