Live Review: Blackchords, Little Casino

Fresh from honing their craft on a North American tour and performing at SXSW, Blackchords are launching their sparkling new album The Thin Line tonight and the Toff proves to be the perfect venue for their elegant melodies. Preceding them is Brisbane psych-rock five-piece Little Casino: a slick outfit who know their way around a pop song with grunt. It's like they're already writing music for stadiums.

The stage looks magical, strewn with fairy lights, and Blackchords, now a four-piece with the addition of awesome new drummer Sarah Galdes (The Tiger & Me), kick-off their set with the swirling title track from their new album. Since this track opens the album, it's a fitting way to start the set with gentle layers slowly building to a crescendo. The surprise is how much of the melancholy guitar pop that is The Thin Line translates live. There is a The National-esque introspective sound to many of the tracks on Blackchords' second record, although perhaps not as much as on their mellow debut, but some material on this follow-up longplayer also pulses with enormous energy. The band has experimented more with big-synth sounds on this record and it's this direction they channel live. Blackchords veer more towards the big-pop vibe of tracks such as Dance, Dance, Dance and From Here. They have a similar epic quality to other power-pop bands such as Delphic and The Temper Trap.

Blackchords' performance is exhilarating, the songs are enormous and joyful, and go a bit too well with red wine. They play almost every track on the new album during tonight's set, the wonderfully jerky pop of At World's End is the only track drawn from their first album. Nick Milwright is a superb frontman with a stunning voice and possesses a Tom Meighan-esque self-assurance. He makes a valiant effort to close the gap between the audience and band at one point by running through the crowd. Although it doesn't work – the invisible barrier remains, with most of the crowd hugging the wall – it doesn't temper the band's intensity. They finish on Oh No and bring the tempo down with a beautiful encore featuring Kitchen, which showcases Milwright's gorgeous vocals.