Live Review: Lakes, Gaud, Mollusc, Terry

Terry open up the eve and the relatively new group fronted by man-about-band Al Montifort don't necessarily reinvent the wheel, when considering the other projects associated with the members. But hey, why mess with a winning formula as the slacker Aussie garage-punk goes down as nice as a Melbourne Bitter and Champion Ruby rollie. Talk About Terry the group’s most identifiable song, is a highlight towards the end of what becomes a truly enjoyable set

It's a bit of a change when two-piece Mollusc take the platform. Lethargic pitch shifted vocals, fat bass and electronics taking the forefront and from song to song it feels as if the duo are going to go for that typical Melbourne goth-electronic Cab Vol rip off sound. But each song, while based upon that scene seems to offer up some interesting flourishes as elements of post-rock and even synth pop crawl their way into the songwriting. They have a few sound issues here and there but overall it's a solid stab, that with further refinement can lead to a bleed out.

Guitars seem to be an arcane relic come Gaud as things have turned into a full on a electronic affair. It's all house beats and harsh frequency noise (a la Merzbow) and overall feels like a combination of the wide Prurient discography.  One thing appears to be missing and that is volume, which kills the dynamic effect of the experimentation happening and sees the crowd favoring drinks and idle chit chat over dark headbanging. To the few with attentive ears, it is the bipolar isolating club that you want to be apart of (or not).

Fret not! Guitars are back for Lakes. The sound on the other hand, nada. Straight off the bat everything sounds tinny and/or boxy (depending on what the consuming bass is doing). The mix from the kit to the vocals all feels off and lacks any form of cohesion. Be it the booze or progression, the crowd fails to reach it's reverse peak of Terry opening the evening despite the fact the headline band are on show. Some people do dig it and the band themselves do perform well but the music itself feels like a smaller scale My Disco or assorted genre cc's. There are some strong points towards the end but overall things just fall short - which feels like a combination of fault from the band and mix and ultimately not worth the wait for another drink at the bar.