Live Review: Future Islands, RVG

RVG are something else.

By something else, I mean if you haven't seen them before, you probably haven't seen anyone else like them. With an honesty in her voice, lead singer Romy Vager transports you to a place that's foreign but feels comfortable. There's a rawness there, lyrics that come from a place of yearning, hurt and passion.

It's no wonder this Melbourne band are getting noticed on a worldwide scale. The jangle of the guitar, the rush of the drums and the emotive lyrics; "I've been trying not to RUIN YOUR DAY!" screamed Vager, taking the early arrivals somewhat aback. It was a warm welcome to RVG.

You have heard the stories, you've seen the footage, you're anticipating the dancing, but nothing can actually prepare you for the aura of Sam Herring. The Future Islands frontman is a force of nature, but that's so obvious, it's not the focus here.

It's the music - the band - the combination of the driving drums from Michael Lowry, the pulsing bass of William Cashion and the distinct and sometimes psychedelic electronic sounds from Gerrit Welmers on keys that position Future Islands as a world-class band.

We were treated to a bunch of brand new tracks from their latest album The Far Field tonight, but they started with an older one, In The Fall. It felt like the calm before the storm, Herring was just warming up and had hardly cracked a sweat by the third song, this year's excellent Ran.

Unfortunately, the sound mix was a little bit off. The reverb on Herring's vocal made it hard to hear the lyrics, and the bass and keys, while well played, suffocated the sound. We could hear Herring well enough when he unleashed guttural death growls at frequent points during the night. It was actually a strange thing. Obviously, Herring gets so into his singing - evident by his fist clenching, his chest pumping and his focus - but the growls and the sometimes-erratic vocals sometimes detracted from the songs. Let's not forget, however, there are no backing vocals at all in this band.

When they played A Dream of You And Me, the full Enmore crowd fed off Herring's energy. For all his movement on stage, the other players barely moved an inch. He introduced Balance as a song for the "young'uns" and declared that "it's all going to be ok" with a smile on his face.

The crowd screamed at certain dance moves; 'The Cossack', 'The Seasons Sway', 'The Hip Shimmy'. Herring did them all without a hint of irony and carried the show to its crescendo of Vireo's Eye. You'd have thought that would finish it, but Herring declared, "We always like to leave thing on a quiet, dreamy note," before Little Dreamer wrapped up the set.

As the final song faded, the satiated fans bundled out onto Enmore Road. For first-timers, it was a chance to dissect what we'd seen. An amazing performer in front of an excellent band with a bloody good set of songs. What more could we want?