Live Review: Diannas, Rabbit Island, Hayley Beth

The Bird was as warm and inviting as ever for a night of awesome local music, the main attraction being the all-girl group Dianas, who would be launching a new single that evening. Kicking things off was Hayley Beth, who belted out some of the strongest vocals I've heard in quite a while. It was entirely clear listening to her sing that she has an amazing talent for melody. The diminutive Beth housed an intimidating big, deep voice, and she delivered kitchen-sink lyrics with a bluesy honesty you could just get lost in. The maturity in her style and lyricism kept each individual onlooker rooted to their spot, mesmerised by the strength and fullness of her vocal delivery. It truly was a pleasure to experience.

Rabbit Island crept onto the stage a short while later, easing into their performance with a soft and tender tune. Amber Fresh was true to her form with a hauntingly beautiful vocal delivery and it was nice to see her switching the tempo, jumping between the guitar and the piano. Her awkwardly humorous little comments between songs kept the crowd on its toes; however, it was a great opportunity for the growing crowd to relax and let themselves be engulfed by the lullaby-sounding tunes.

Dianas finally took to the stage brimming with confidence, having placed as the runners up in the recent Big Splash competition. The talent of this group is undeniable as Caitlin Moloney and Nathalie Pavlovic swapped back and forth between bass and electric guitar throughout their set, enchanting the crowd with their catchy-as-all-hell, dream-poppy surf rock reminiscent of a more upbeat version of Warpaint. The two singles the girls were there to launch, Cruelty and Origami, may just be some of their finest-sounding music yet. Beginning with some lush vocal harmonies between the two vocalists, Cruelty picks up with drummer Ashley Ramsay coming in at full force as the front-women reach soaring peaks with their vocal deliveries. Origami begins slower, with the vocal chanting of 'Fall into me', but picks up speed and drive as the song goes on. The girls sound strong but also haunting, and the crowd loved every second of it, following the style with a slight sway, absolutely captivated by the performance. They seemed really pleased with the response they were getting and pulled out a paper bag full of CDs, gesturing for us to take a free copy. They were all gone within seconds, and I'm sure many people will be enjoying those two tunes on many occasions from now on, as the band continue to prove that they deserve all the hype they get. Hopefully we'll be hearing a full-length album from them soon; I'll certainly be getting my hands on it.