Live Review: The Belligerents, Tundra, Twin Haus

It's a measly crowd that greets local quartet Twin Haus as they take the stage tonight, which is a real shame, as these guys are pumping out arguably some of Brisbane's freshest underground pop beats at the moment. It's the instrumental jams that really get your juices flowing; serene, dream-like psychedelic guitars, echoing wails from multi-instrumentalist frontman Daniel Grima, and of course, the smooth bass and beats are the cherry on the allegorical cake. Having been together as a band for only a short time, the boys don't have an expansive back-catalogue yet, however each track they do have is played with conviction and flair, even to an audience this small. Let's hope it's not too long before we see this group playing to larger audiences, as their trance-inducing performance has already improved in leaps and bounds over their short career.

Tundra are next up, and keep the pop dream alive with their equally impressive melodies. They're one of those bands who make you feel shit about yourself for not achieving what they have at such a young age – only just scraping past the legal drinking age, these guys have a tight sound and really get the crowd grooving with a stage presence that seems well beyond their years. Commotion and Puppetmaster prove to be crowd favourites tonight, due to the infectious guitar riffs and sing-along moments.

As headliners The Belligerents now command proceedings, the audience seem more willing to crowd around the stage and be part of the action, which creates an exciting buzz. Bassist Konstantin “Konsti” Kersting has to win the best dressed prize tonight, donning a fabulous set of dark denim overalls as he jumps around the stage, which is a fantastic spectacle to behold. The Belligerents are true masters of genre-blending, infusing their style with bits of pop, psychedelia, dance and indie, to create an entirely pleasing sound which provides many “lose yourself” opportunities for spectators, particularly with tracks Steal Your Money and She Calls The Shots. The single they're here to promote, All I Have, starts out with a real poppy tone which morphs into a fantastic psychedelic freakout towards the end; it's a true privilege to experience live. There are also several stunning synth-fuelled moments throughout the night – notably Imagination and Wait – where Andy Balzat really brings the funk. After their set, the boys are coerced by the crowd to keep the party going, if only for a few more minutes, with an encore, to which they humbly oblige.

With each act hailing from Brisbane, tonight's performances further demonstrate just why we're a city to watch out for in the music stakes – brilliance from every band.