Live Review: Alpine, Pearls, Olympia

With doors opening at 6pm, it was an early start for punters heading into Metropolis to catch Melbourne indie-pop six-piece Alpine perform new tracks from their latest album, Yuck, as part of their Foolish tour. 

Melbourne artist Olympia started the show to a small group of fans, playing a strong set of originals she created by combining looped samples and backing tracks while playing guitar and filling out the room with her rich, reverb-filled head voice. 

Rock four-piece Pearls were next, kicking off their set with Straight Through The Heart, a song that saw a moustachioed Ryan Caesar delivering the stinging notes of the intro on his electric guitar before joining in on vocals in the chorus with organist and singer Cassandra Kiely. The band kept the audience entertained with foot-stomping tracks like Dirty Water and Pretend You’re Mine before ending with the incredibly catchy Big Shot, which got a great reaction from the crowd.

As the club filled out, the sounds of Eddie Hendricks’ Day By Day began playing through the loudspeakers as the members of Alpine assembled on stage. Receiving a warm welcome from the packed club, the band launched straight into getting the crowd energised and dancing with Crunches and Hands while a video screen behind them lit up with lights and hypnotic visuals flashing in time with the music.

Singers Lou James and Phoebe Baker were in top form despite James needing some cough drops handy to keep her voice going through the set. The band powered through Shot Fox and Seeing Red before delving into the slow jam Come On, featuring beautiful harmonies between James and Baker. Bassist Ryan Lamb and drummer Phil Tucker let loose on Damn Baby and Gasoline, jumping around on stage while remaining locked into the fast-paced rhythm of the songs. 

The band closed with the slow-burning electronic sounds of Need Not Be before returning for an encore with live favourite Villages and an extended jam of new song Lovers Part 1 + 2. The band ended in a haze of feedback and crashing cymbals, leaving the stage to an ecstatic response from the crowd.