Live Review: Roku Music, Cobwebbs, Occults, Deadshred

While the daytime saw an immensely hectic Record Store Day and some British people wandering around South Bank, the night belongs to The Underdog with Roku Music making their way back into town as a part of their Collider tour.
Deadshred open and even seeing the tail-end it is satisfying as the band are tight, loud and bring a level of sex appeal to punk. The interplay between the band members feels so natural as they thrash from one number to another seamlessly. Despite all members being past or present in a defined band, the sound they conjure draws no influence from other projects and the band are one to keep an eye on.
By the time Occults take the stage the room is well and truly packed and with a new drummer that looks like Jeremy Neale, the group's sound voyages away from the darker side to more of a garagey rock sound with slithers of goth. The sound works pretty well for them with delayed guitar lines, throbbing bass and harsh monotone vocals taking hold and though a slightly different set to what has come to pass, it is more than an acceptable one.
Cobwebbs tonight are showing off new material from their upcoming record and it is a bit of a different affair again. Psych-infused punk scrawlings have now been replaced with detuned guitar sludge and pinches of kraut thrown into the mix. Past performances with keys in the dimension added a bit more depth to their live show, but tonight the group are quite sonically filled out anyway with a fairly consistent momentum throughout the set.
Twenty-something shows later, Roku Music are back in town seasoned from the road. Naturally, their latest record Collider is what is largely on offer tonight and now that the tracks have had a chance to marinate into a fine succulent dish, moments like the title track taste all the more sweeter. The problem with this set though is the fact the sound is quite inconstant throughout, with screeches and things like reverb non-existent. Though a problem, this did not overshadow the set and in a sea of poor shoegaze imitators, it is good to see a band, an Australian band, actually be able to pull it off with style and amazingly have none of them look like the cast of The IT Crowd.