Live Review: Papa Vs Pretty, Louis London, Jenny Broke The Window

10 March 2014 | 10:07 am | Cameron Warner

The crowd lapped up the dreamy tunes, and then the encore of One Of The Animals.

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A miserable Sydney night meant a slow start at the Oxford Art Factory, but as the masses trudged in Jenny Broke The Window warmed their insides with ultra catchy indie-rock. The set was characteristically tight, an extra percussionist and larger backing track adding volume to JBTW's sound and pulling punters to the front of the room.

Louis London kept busy by constantly swapping guitars with band mates and grabbing new ones from side stage, but despite the hassle Louis London played impeccably. Ed Saloman was definitely enthused; he looked like he was in pain, flailing his head around and gritting his death between verses. His voice on the other hand was soothing, comparable to Jeff Buckley. Saloman began on rhythm guitar but swapped to bass and didn't miss a beat. Older tracks like To The Edge And Back got just as much appreciation as We're Not Alone and Hardly Hear You.

Papa Vs Pretty really pulled out the big guns for Sydney; a live string section playing in a separate glass cube next to the bar was only half as surprising as the horns section that popped up on the upper tier halfway through My Life Is Yours.

The surprises were thoughtful and welcome, but unfortunately glitchy sound production took away from the set. Thomas Rawle charismatically fought feedback with his bubbly stage presence and slick vocals but his polite frustration was visible. The string section was inaudible when combined with the band, but sounded gorgeous when it was just Rawle's vocals and guitar accompanying the violins for Roses After Dark. The crowd lapped up the dreamy tune, and then the encore of One Of The Animals.