Average Rap Band, consisting of the former members of @peace (Tom Scott and Lui Tuiasau) are now touring their first album El Sol, and it's a little more than average. Warming up the room with very funky, '80s/'90s-focused tunes was a DJ set from Dialect, one half of Dialect & Despair. The pair's recently released album, Self Evident, is a bold move in the Australian rap scene, and Dialect navigated the solo set with ease. By the time people had left the safety of the booths and were beginning to dance among the smoke, Average Rap Band very casually took to the stage.
You're on an island. A tropical island, palm trees, coconuts, glistening waves kissing the warm sand. You're sipping on gin and juice by the pool, which is also on the island. This is where the very chilled out hip hop narratives that are El Sol transport you to. The opening track, Intro (42 Degrees), immediately gave us a taste of the clever blend of jazz, soul and hip hop both Tom Scott and Lui Tuiasau have crafted. Post-rock guitars matched with brooding piano built into an anti-climax, adequately preparing us for the body of the album.
What makes Average Rap Band so likeable is their playful ability to craft tracks out of familiar human experiences. Tongue-in-cheek odes to the Domino's pizza guy (Pizza Man) and wanting to be pool side instead of waking up in your bedroom with rent due (Pool Side) make El Sol an engaging, honest tribute to the normality of our everyday lives. However their music is as dark as it is funny, tracks like Jealous and What Am I Doing With My Life? also touching on the ugly side of relationships and existentialism.
Despite sound issues and both mics not being as loud as they should have been, the tropical journey we had taken to El Sol was a memorable one. Tom Scott took centrestage with their final track Entertainment, getting cosy with the front row and ending with a completely stripped back verse, ditching the mic. It was so good and perfectly timed, punters lost it. Lights went out, applause followed, and Average Rap Band walked off stage into the crowd as casually as they arrived.
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