Live Review: Little May, E^st, Robert Muinos

Little May's For The Company Melbourne leg starts off lazily with Robert Muinos performing languid and delicate rock tunes such as Dog and Sydney. Everyone's happy to sit on the floor, letting the dreaminess wash over them. Even Little May's lead singer Hannah Field is drawn out to hang with friends among the crowd, soaking up the sweet, group-hug type of vibe. 

Next up, cool lady E^st weaves a more explosive spell as she charges up the vibe to party-jam levels with her synths, samples and ball-of-energy dance moves. E^st pops back and forth across the stage during synth banger Old Age, flicking that enviable mop of curls around and filling the space with enough confidence to convince us all she's totally in charge. During a cover of The Neighbourhood's Sweater Weather, E^st reveals the awesome power of her voice when she lets rip with an operatic wail in one particularly mind-blowing moment. Ending with a tapestry of samples, reverb and further vocal magic on The Alley, E^st wins a bunch of new fans right then and there.

Taking the vibe back down to pure mystical, folk-rockers Little May begin with atmospheric album opener, Cicadas. Field stands singing with sweet seriousness, while guitarist Liz Drummond's cute pigtails cast demonic shadows on the walls. Seven Hours and Home - punctuated with lovely keys, expansive percussion and killer-sweet harmonies - settle punters in for a great set. A soft, melancholy keys introduction to Sinks is just lovely, before the song explodes upwards into a rising power. "If you poke that tiger long enough something's gonna rise," they sing in closing, which perfectly matches the music.

Confessing they're massive dorks who've planned the set as an "acoustic mountain", Field informs we're now ascending to the "angsty, restless, lovelorn section" before launching into Hide, which was written back in the good old days of their confused early 20s. A banging cover of Icehouse's classic Great Southern Land takes everyone even further back somewhere to the '80s with its familiar, chiming riff. Drummer Cat Hunter makes Oh My My even more magical than usual with percussion palpably felt beating through bodies. Drummond's plaintive, rising wails to "keep me safe" hit guts and hearts even further, where it hurts. Having climbed their "acoustic mountain" to the top, Little May nail their performance with a depth, maturity and sweetness that's such a pleasure to experience.