Live Review: Deafcult, Horror My Friend, Blush Response, Ponytail Kink

There's something about a wall-of-sound that just makes you smile. That was the case last night when Deafcult hit Adelaide for the first time, playing at the Cranka with locals Horror My Friend, Blush Response and Ponytail Kink. The night included both laughter and drama, with lots of stand-up and unfortunately a bit of standing down.

Ponytail Kink kicked off the night with their fuzzy, indie-pop sound. Rock-solid bass playing and drumming to suit let guitarist Hannah Fairlamb focus on both her playful style and rock star antics. Descending bass lines and witty lyrics filled their set before a final key change marked the welcome to Adelaide Deafcult deserved.

Blush Response was next, with their soft strumming eventually blowing out into the feedback bathed wall-of-sound we were all after. Donning a Sonic Youth beanie and with pedals galore at his disposal, Alister Douglas was most certainly at the helm. "What do you call a sheep without legs?" he asked. "A cloud." A simple joke, but one that captured where we all were - the clouds.

Horror My Friend not only brought us back down to earth, but crashed out of the gates with their fast-paced and unrelenting fuzzy sound. Their live performances continue to be refined, while their new material showed a new dynamic we haven't yet seen. Bad luck was imminent, however, and when a crack was found in the bass drum skin, they decided to cut their set short. While many will argue that the South Australian blackout jokes might have jinxed them, alas the lights went out on Horror My Friend that night.

We're familiar with hydras here in Adelaide, but we definitely weren't prepared for the six-headed beast that arrived from Brisbane. After a replacement bass drum was found, Deafcult's slow-burning sound built into an all out war. With four members balancing guitar duties, and dreamy vocals placed somewhere in between, the band shifted between upbeat pop and a sound akin to This Will Destroy You.

Yet through all the fuzzy, squealing and reverb-washed guitars, it was the bass that seemed to hold all the bands together. It was the bass foundation that kept the spacey guitars in check, and the bass that roared from start to finish. As for Deafcult, they're welcome back anytime.