Live Review: Horrorshow, Dialectrix, L-Fresh The Lion

Sydney rapper L-Fresh The Lion got up with sidekick vocalist Mirrah and DJ MK-1 with a focused and modest set that built into the perfect warm-up. The soulful sample on Truth and Mirrah's ad-libs on Forever Rising complemented L's socially conscious lyrics, culminating with his new track, One.

The audience pushed forward for Dialectrix and his breathless, rhythmic rapping. A charming performer, his set was honest and fun and included some speedy call and response on the chorus of Pieces Of A Puzzle, a history lesson through Aussie hip hop with DJ 2Buck and the crazy jazz drum sample on Deadset.

Celebrating the launch of their new single, Unfair Lottery, this was the first show in nine months for Inner West Sydney duo Horrorshow, with Solo on vocals and Adit on beats. The launch itself was a faultless hype man for the forthcoming album, King Amongst Many, that the pair announced they had finished last week. They performed the pre-loved singles like Did You Hear? with its catcall “it ain't got nothing if it ain't got soul”, as well as never-performed tracks like Nice Guys Finish Last, featuring fellow One Day Crew member Joyride, who jumped on stage for the song. 

Solo made sure the crowd heard every rhyme with sharp articulation and his flow relented only once, for a deep pause of apparent appreciation looking out at the sold-out crowd before launching into the single of the night, Unfair Lottery, a sceptical perspective on white privilege and the asylum seeker debate. The highlight of the night was the poignant storytelling on The Rain, a hard-hitting yet reflective track that had the crowd united in the moment and screaming along.

Bringing at least one grown man to tears during the venue-wide arm wave for Walk You Home (This Day), Horrorshow launched Unfair Lottery amongst family with an amazingly pumped audience responding to their every word.