Live Review: The Gin Club, Melodie Nelson, The Wednesday Night

A bowls club seems like both an unsuitable yet utterly perfect venue for a night of stomping folk rock. Sydney indie poppers The Wednesday Night kicked off the evening on a slightly different, yet lush and enjoyable note. The band's strength is always found in vocalist Laura Murdoch, whose playfully enticing tones make each song, foreign from the outset, sound like a classic pop tune by conclusion. If there's a certain sameness to the sound, this is easy to overlook when they're as gorgeous and groovy as they are. Vocalist Melodie Nelson and her group took the stage next, marching to a far more similar beat to that of the headline act. Nelson's quietly withdrawn folk-cum-post-punk recalls Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, and her band's restraint – quite palpable for a five-piece – only strengthened her own vocal prowess and presence. Whilst they were inauspiciously under-acknowledged by the crowd, this oddly suited the music in a way, which never aimed to intrude – simply to frame.
This year marks the tenth anniversary for Brisbane locals The Gin Club, who show no signs of slowing down. Performing, for the most part, in seven-piece mode, the collective's bittersweet and melancholic brand of alt-country folk rock has always sounded mature beyond their years, even after a decade. The rollicking and pounding rhythm section elevates the band beyond their folk rock peers. Live, the band's quintessentially Australian yet never cringeworthy identity really comes to the fore – the group manages to channel Australian identity without relying on it as a crutch. For all the undercurrents of sadness, the band never dwell on the morose; they're just a fun, stomping and excellent crew of troubadours who know how to balance elements of melancholia against boisterous sing-alongs.