Live Review: Megan Washington, Teeth And Tongue

Melbourne’s Teeth and Tongue, featuring Jess Cornelius on vocals and her collaborative ensemble, start by unleashing intriguing, soulful alt. pop layered with impressive harmonies.

Megan Washington gives fans a taste of her brand new material. She’s touring off the back of her latest single Limitless and dives straight into this upbeat track that boasts wispy falsetto and an infectious, feel-good vibe. The singer-songwriter marks her return to the touring circuit with a fresh sound – a whirlwind of emotional highs and lows. She exudes a positive vibe in Get Happy and old favourite Sunday Best, while the atmospheric Skyline flaunts her raspy quality and impressive vocal range.

Tonight’s intimate show provides a rare opportunity for the audience to hear Washington pour her heart out while sharing information about the long journey leading up to the completion of her forthcoming LP release titled There There. She explains that, when writing this new record, she had a breakthrough during the songwriting process when she realised the important connection between certain events in her life. Washington describes a failed engagement that resulted in a song called Marry Me, a vulnerable mid-tempo track capturing heartfelt truth. She admits it was the hardest song of all to put down, but it was also an epiphany that allowed her to write the rest of the record in just three weeks.

Washington then reveals she wrote about trying to get back together with her ex-fiance, producing a song called Begin Again: a captivating, piano-driven ballad. The crescendo in this deeply moving, personal number builds up beautifully, matching her strong vocal performance. Her band members model new merchandise, T-shirts featuring lyrics from the song: “At the ending you begin again”. My Heart Is A Wheel is a fun and playful number filled with addictive hooks, quirky riffs and fast-paced lyrics that roll effortlessly from her tongue. She pauses for a long dramatic break before taking the song around for one last chorus while tapping the tambourine to the beat.

Her backing band leaves the stage and Washington performs Underground solo on acoustic guitar. The audience accompanies her on vocals, completing phrases and remaining completely still before letting out a roaring cheer at the song’s conclusion. The band return to the stage for a mesmerising performance of the hauntingly beautiful Skeleton Key, delivering spectacular, sweeping instrumentals. Crowd favourite How To Tame Lions is the perfect way to end this magical night.