Live Review: Megan Washington, Teeth & Tongue, GOVS

It’s a shame that the audience at The Zoo is treating the soft crooning of GOVS as background music. The Gold Coast singer-songwriter Josiah Birrell usually has a band in tow, and as he huddles over his guitar, it’s hard not to wish they were up there with him.

On record, his songs are refreshingly exciting and emotive, but something has been lost in these bare-bone acoustic renditions. The alluring and cleverly crafted Australian Summer proves to be a standout, but the majority of the understated set is drowning in a room dominated by conversation.

“How do you feel about feelings?” Jess Cornelius, aka Teeth & Tongue asks ironically, before diving into another song that negotiates the highs and lows of relationships and restlessness. It’s midway through her set; the audience has increased considerably in size and it’s easy to kick back, smile at the quirky onstage banter and be taken on a journey of alt-pop enjoyment.

By combining pre-recorded drum samples with heavily textured and intriguing guitar lines, the Melbourne-based songstress is able to create wonderfully big sounds for just one person. Although these tempo-perfect samples occasionally make it feel as if we’re all watching someone sing at a karaoke bar, it doesn’t seem to affect the crowd and the set goes down a treat.

Touring for the release of single Limitless from her upcoming album, There There, local girl Megan Washington takes to the stage and is on her game. She comes across as a seasoned veteran and powerfully grabs the attention of the audience by way of her opener Limitless. Washington quickly follows up with the infectious Get Happy and old favourite Sunday Best before stopping to break the ice with the crowd: “This next song is about having hope… even when you feel apocalyptically like shit.”

Continuing on to play a well balanced selection of old songs with new treats littered throughout (including the lively, hook-heavy crowd-pleaser My Heart Is A Wheel and the beautifully raw Begin Again), Washington is able to show off her colourful array of vocal textures and impressive range. She has a scarily talented knack for weaving sultry melodies through interesting chord progressions. Add that to a tight rhythm section and we’re left with a recipe for success.

Washington may not win over a huge number of new fans on her upcoming release, but she continues to prove that it’s possible to perform cleverly constructed songs with substance and still have a laugh while doing so. Her new tunes stand out strongly amongst a back catalogue already full of hits and she leaves the stage triumphantly to receptive cheers – it’s clear that there’s a lot of love in the room for this girl.