Live Review: DMA's, The Creases, World Champion

The Oxford Art Factory had a smattering of people on hand for the Sydney three-piece, World Champion, as they played their brand of lo-fi, downbeat rock. The summer vibe had people swaying breezily as if on a cruise ship. No sick bags here though.

Brisbane quartet, The Creases, were up next with an air of nonchalance and intrigue. They took a while but finally grabbed the attention of the audience with their last few songs, especially the recognisable Static Lines and I Won’t Wait.

The question on everyone’s lips was, “Who are DMA’s?” and how have they gone from obscurity to a sold-out OAF show in less than a year? The answer: the curtain was pulled and six band members dove straight into Feels Like 37. You could almost see the wave of goosebumps spread over the packed audience as they realised why they were here.

You could throw in references to the Gallagher brothers, Britpop and Northern England here, but there’s something else about DMA’s that makes then work. With no pretence to be seen or chit-chat to be heard, the band ploughed through a nine track set-list, all the while keeping the crowd in the palm of their hand. Whilst their recorded tracks may lack the wow factor, their live performance does not.

Songs that were stripped down to acoustic guitar and vocals, like So We Know and Delete were raw and hypnotic. Vocalist Tommy O’Dell has a voice that compels you to listen. Maybe it IS the bunged-on British accent, or maybe it’s power-chord driven guitar. You can’t help but think that there’s a definitely schtick going on here, but we’re all getting sucked in and it’s well worth it.

The last song, Play It Out, echoed out but O’Dell had left the stage well before the final solos. No fond goodbyes here. The Dandy Warhols house music came on and we all left with the realisation that DMA’s will be huge and maybe we should just go with it.