Live Review: Heavy Beach, Lowtide, Nite Fields

The Gasometer provides some shelter from the storm tonight as Heavy Beach host their self-titled EP launch. Having missed opening band Atolls, Nite Fields are the first taste of music for tonight. The Brisbane four-piece and their trusty 606 swing between dark shoegaze and unadulterated post-punk. Vocalist Danny Venzin just leans into his microphone and produces something understated yet unsettling. The band have a kind of awkward cool about their stage presence, which is only broken when individual members look out into the crowd to check audience reaction. Some fluttering around the merch desk for late set highlight and new single Vacation suggests the punters appreciate their efforts.

The dual bass wielding gaze aficionados Lowtide prove once again why their name is gold in this town. Gabe Lewis's pedal board is utilised to its utmost as he creates guitar sounds that shimmer around the bandroom, providing a beautiful backdrop to the twin vocal technique of Giles Simon and Lucy Buckeridge. Every movement in their songs seems to be heading to the next point of ecstasy and it is wonderful to hear the subtleties from the rhythm section as you are saturated by guitar.

Heavy Beach hit the stage well past midnight, but that doesn't stop a rush of eager punters heading to the Gaso bandroom door to pay their way in. The floor is packed and the view is hindered but thankfully the beer-ban in the upstairs viewing area allows a sober few to ascend the stairs for a prime vantage point. The three-piece, led by prolific local Ali Edmonds, set about performing a set of riff-heavy rockers. The full potential of Heavy Beach really hits home in the live setting as they play tunes from their new 10”. There is a soft-to-loud dynamic running across their sound, and when Edmonds ups the distortion in the required sections, their presence is undeniable. Mark Renall may not be doing his posture any good as he crouches over his kit, but he plays his backbone percussion with little effort. Clayton Pegus takes a slinkier approach as he provides a melodic counterpoint to Edmonds's punchy guitar work. Perhaps due to their early incarnation as a bass-less duo, Edmonds fills out the band's sound with guitar effects and loops. Some great mixing from the sound desk ensures that the songs are bursting with noise without any loss in clarity. Early single 1963 is played early in the set and when Edmonds insists we're all crazy in the chorus it sounds suitably badass. A couple of people are spotted wearing newly purchased Heavy Beach t-shirts towards the end of the set and it's no wonder: a few more hard-hitting sets like this and Heavy Beach are bound to become favourites on the live scene.

Jan Wisniewski