Live Review: Hannahband, Oslow, Sweater Curse, In Real Life, Kate Woodhouse

The back room of The Foundry is a funny little space, its diminutive size and relative obscurity in the shadow of its bigger, better-known front-room cousin both a blessing and a curse for acts who end up performing in its cramped confines.

Tonight, it proves far more the former than the latter, as intimacy and warmth — and an indelible sense of inclusion — reign supreme among a highly loveable and eminently communal line-up of acts that have gathered to celebrate a joint tour between cult Sydney outfits Oslow and Hannahband. 

Cast against a competing gig in the front room (punters are free to flit between the two as they please), the evening opens with the attitudinal abandon of Brissy songstress Kate Woodhouse, boldly stepping out tonight without the safety net of her band, Self Care, as they're presently navigating some line-up issues and rebuilding the machine. A few false starts and finger-slips aside (punctuated with the odd frustrated enunciation from the trooper behind the mic), she does a supremely admirable job. It's a pity to have not seen these songs, including sublime closer Oak Tree, in their fully fleshed-out forms, but Woodhouse can walk away deeply proud of her contributions to tonight's proceedings.

The ball keeps rolling with sort-of-kinda-but-apparently-not-on-hiatus locals In Real Life, who have emerged from the wilderness to say farewell to their synth player, Amber, tonight, and are joined by Chris Langenberg (Vulture Circus, Sweater Curse and more) on drums. Sure, they arguably skew a little young for their often world-weary lyrics ("Any pub's a good pub if you drink there for years," opines one particularly memorable refrain), but they're a tight and engaging group of performers, particularly given the wider bittersweet context surrounding their outing tonight.

Next up, we're treated to a polished showing from ascendant Brissy trio Sweater Curse, who instantly win over the audience with their deadpan, unabashedly dorky aesthetic. Unsure whether the band knows their name is shared by a track on Tape/Off's 2010 LP Unreel Unravel (it's entirely possible it's intentional), but that's probably beside the point. Either way, Langenberg shows no sign of fatigue from his stint behind the kit for IRL, stepping into his guitarist role with Sweater Curse with aplomb, and they show themselves to be a remarkably talented young outfit doing extremely good things in the world of introspective, slightly sparkly indie-rock. 

Despite being the second-last act of the night, noodly feelings-rockers Oslow end up garnering the biggest crowd of onlookers of the evening, filling out the back room nicely as they dexterously cut their way through a swathe of dynamic, deliciously layered tunes. They've been away from the spotlight recently hard at work on their debut LP and, if the sounds we're greeted with tonight are any indication, this is a band that you'll be hearing a lot more about in the very near future. Punk and its surrounds are competitive, crowded arenas, and Oslow demonstrate tonight that they absolutely have the chops to rise above the chaff with an unrelenting set of tight, thoughtful and technically proficient compositions.

The crowd shrinks somewhat for Hannahband's closing set, although that's a loss for those who departed, because those of us who remain are ultra-keen and super-ready to experience an earful of the duo's dynamic, gloriously cacophonous and fundamentally explosive tunes. Championing their brilliant recent album, Quitting Will Improve Your Health, guitarist Nathan Martin and drummer Marnie Vaughn — and their obviously deep-and-beautiful friendship — utterly shine as beacons of DIY damn-the-man freewill throughout.

This goes beyond the mere musicality of the endeavour, although, yes, the frantic, fuck-'em-all energy that emanates from both Vaughn and Martin goes a long way towards making this show as special as it ultimately ends up being. But it's more than that; having dressed up the room in aluminium foil for added visual effect (Vaughn briefly wraps herself in the shiny material before deeming it way-too-the-fuck hot for that — fair enough), their banter game is also strong — admittedly, occasionally aided by one particularly vocal guy in the audience who is just super-happy to engage clearly rhetorical questions and drag us all along for the ride. Still, Martin and Vaughn remain affable, open and upbeat throughout and it helps keep us energised right through to the closing strains. 

Clear crowd favourites both old and new make appearances, with particular highlights including the shouty iconoclasm of Burn It Down, the unusual accessibility of Terrified Of Everything, the four-to-the-floor creep-up of Accommodations and the much-appreciated appearance of perennial favourite I Will Let You Down, from 2014 LP Retirement. During their set, Martin laments that he and Vaughn don't have many friends in Brisbane; however, one suspects that, after tonight's brilliant display, they can absolutely count more than a handful of new additions to that estimation for the next occasion they find themselves in our neck of the woods. Come back any time.