Live Review: Husky, Tia Gostelow, Ani Lou

Swirling guitars and hypnotic harmonies lit up the deep Hobart winter, with the power of Australian indie music on full display.

The effect of live music is often judged by the clamour of the crowd, but here it was the exact opposite. Early birds at Grand Poobah (members of Husky included), were treated to a beautifully minimalist performance from local singer-songwriter Ani Lou. Not one person moved as the audience drank in the breathy, searching vocals of this fledgling vocalist, who only recently made her live debut supporting Nai Palm. That she stood isolated and unmoving under the warm, red light was a telling reflection of the lamenting delivery and raw emotion her music expressed so intensely. The recently released EP Eralda is a cinematic exploration of personal struggles with health, and she was quick to express her gratitude to the crowd for the opportunity to share it. But it was the audience that was truly grateful to experience the slow cascade of her fingerpicked electric guitar and haunting, echoed voice. It's obvious the artist has a bright future.

The tour de force that is Tia Gostelow next took the stage. The chemistry of the three vocalists melted beautifully into the hazy blues rock plied by the Queenslanders, and before long a handful of dancers joined them at the foot of the stage, having a ridiculously good time and spinning around together. Tia Gostelow's earthy, versatile voice built each track into an immersive blend of instrumentals and resonant harmonies. She then dedicated a song to boys "who think they're the best thing in the world, but they're not", before building into beautiful crooning which had many of the crowd with arms around each other. The crowd shook and bopped to their magnetic cover of Fleet Foxes' Ragged Wood, as well as her unrestrained version of Hide by Little May, leaving the crowd well and truly warm.

Having developed from the safe space of crooning folk, Husky's Punchbuzz tour explored the more beautiful and ambitious areas of their folk-rock palette. The fuzzy synth and scampering drum line of Ghost had the crowd immediately bouncing, to complement the iconic lilt of Husky Gawenda. Each song brought with it a knotted emotion, tied up in Husky's wistful and yearning lyrics. Gideon Preiss on keys impressed throughout the feathery instrumental sections, punctuated by sharp piano sections, leaving the crowd momentarily spellbound. He joked about their whiteboard, rather than having a set list, pronouncing "it's the way of the future, everyone", which got a sensible chuckle.

The tracks hit their highest point on the rare moments when the accompaniment faded away, and built out of melodic humming, and only the exquisite harmonies of Gawenda and Preiss remained. An unearthly swell of strumming, harmonising and percussion would then raise the crowd up with its urgent energy, which had several crowd members air drumming enthusiastically.

The final songs carried flickers of psych rock, organically layered and reverberating around the room with an understated beauty. The set culminated in an insane piano solo from Preiss, with closed eyes and a pained expression, stunning the crowd with its pace and complexity. The encore had the crowd cheering for I'm Not Coming Back, when people started swing dancing, and all four came together around a single mic for an acoustic cover and crowd chant of Leonard Cohen's Lover Lover Lover, an intimate and fitting end to a wonderful night.