Live Review: Usurper of Modern Medicine, Jacob Diamond

July is normally a pretty miserable time of the year in Perth. It's right in the middle of winter, so it is cold and nearly always raining. For this reason, it is such a treat each Thursday to head down to one of the many shows as part of the Fremantle Hidden Treasures festival. The choice of acts for the show provided an interesting look at the music scenes in WA. These are quintessentially Freo and Perth bands.

This week was the opening, and the cavernous PS Art space is again hosting a curated selection of musos and bands from all over Perth. This year however a different video artist produced the visuals that were projected behind the acts as they performed.

First up was Jacob Diamond, a guy who is having a truly phenomenal run. 2015 saw not only the topping of The Big Splash band comp, but also taking home the WAM Award for Best Folk Act. This alt-country folk act played in a more stripped down configuration, just three guys with guitars and songs about pain, longing and the beauty of the countryside. It was the lyrics the video artist seemed to have caught upon and beautiful images of salt marshes, swamps, sand dunes mixed with time lapse shots of sunsets to create the perfect backdrop. Occasionally the distorted slide guitar overtook the rest of the band, but this was a restrained performance that held the audience captive.

Moving from a traditionally Freo sound to something more urban, Usurper Of Modern Medicine took to the stage and dominated with heavy beats, pulsing bass and thundering synths. Part psych-rock, part electronica, all party, these guys had the audience dancing from minute one. The most visceral element for the show was the driving beats from drummer Matt Bairstow. The kit wasn't even mic'ed, yet everywhere you stood, you could feel each hit radiate through your core. Visuals for the set were obviously influenced by previous video clips for songs like Mercury In Motionless Space and Ego War with truly trippy images that complemented the sound.