The Sinking Teeth’s huge sound belies the fact that there are only three people onstage. The melodic grunge trio have no trouble warming up the crowd with their angsty, ‘90s-esque tunes.

The house lights go down and Jay Z’s 99 Problems blares through the PA. Kingswood have done exceptionally well to gather so much support having only released a single EP since they formed in 2009. Now the Melbourne quartet has released their debut album Microscopic Wars and tonight is their hometown’s first chance to hear some tracks live.

The band is energetic from the get-go, unleashing wild, riff-driven classic rocks tunes with a refreshing modern twist. The dual vocals of frontman Fergus Linacre and guitarist Alex Laska create that signature Kingswood sound and drummer Justin Debrincat is an absolute beast on the kit, crashing out songs without ever getting lost behind his bandmates. These boys are at home onstage and command the space. Each song is more intense than its predecessor, but the evening reaches a crescendo when Linacre steps behind the drums to assist with percussion duties on So Long while Laska takes centre stage with a blistering, five-minute guitar solo – incredible!

The second half of the set definitely kicks it up a notch. Linacre wields a tambourine while introducing “sexy dancing song” I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me. Debrincat takes a moment during a guitar change to chat with the crowd, giving a shout-out to none other than The Music as the boys were stoked to return home and find their faces on their first (and certainly not their last) magazine cover.

As the gig draws to a close, Kingswood perform a rendition of a track by Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit, whom they met while playing Splendour In The Grass last month. It translates surprising well. They then round out the set with crowd-pleaser Ohio, giving us one last chance to groove along and join in on vocals.