Live Review: Horror My Friend

Walking into Jive there was already a huge buzz going on. The locals were restless, and rightly so, they had plenty of pent-up energy to expel and the explosive Horror My Friend were about to take stage. Having witnessed the band only a few weeks ago supporting Deafcult and Japandroids, this reviewer was definitely up for another dose of Adelaide's noisiest indie-rock/shoegaze outfit. Tonight they were launching their new single Admit None - do bands launch singles anymore these days? Thankfully Horror My Friend did!

For the uninitiated, their frantic energy may seem haphazard but Horror My Friend are tight. Singer/guitarist Josh Battersby propelled himself around the stage, stabbing his guitar at the boards while somehow playing each note perfectly. Bassist Tom Gordon, who also performed lead singing duties on a few tracks, might not have Battersby's height but he does match his energy and he completed just as many laps of the stage. Drummer Sam Kolesnik kept this well-oiled machine going nicely and his wild thrashing on the skins and cymbals concealed endless finesse.

They tore through a quick-fire one-hour set playing many tracks from their debut album Stay In, Do Nothing, the crowd jumping and dancing and singing every lyric throughout. We haven't seen such a response to a local band for a very long time. Catch the next show, Horror My Friend will be your new favourite band!