Live Review: Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Hands Like Houses, Ocean Grove

The crowd grew from fairly modest in size to substantial as Ocean Grove opened the flood gates to what would be a vehement performance.

A genre unto themselves, the band seemed to exude everything that was great about the '90s. Boasting discordance at all of the right moments, nu-metal rap and the modern breakdown flair, they were difficult to ignore. The vast combinations of styles worked in their favour, with the crowd kept engaged in an electric, youthful kind of energy. You can see why, when the members of Ocean Grove were so uninhibited with their instruments, spinning and leaping, yet never really putting a foot wrong.
The audience seemed to have solidified more towards the end of their set, still brimming with the contagious keenness of the last thirty minutes; things would bode well for Hands Like Houses to take full advantage. A well-mixed performance paved the way for an exhibition of the ridiculous vocal talents of frontman Trenton Woodley. The intensity grew rapidly in sync with Woodley’s potent higher range until the atmosphere had grown to the point of filling every last square centimetre of the theatre.

Sharing in the album’s recent success, their setlist was heavily laden with tracks from Dissonance, most notably New Romantics which was dropped with surprising subtlety in the middle of the act. A band progressive, yet accessible and easy to listen to, the clearly grateful and energetic outfit finished their act without a flat note.

An eerie backing track and an air of mystery surrounded the break. The stage gear doubled, including an impressive two sets of drums and lights to boot, everyone was soon paying attention. Projections of clouds hung ominously behind the stage and the foreboding sounds began to swell as In Hearts Wake enter the scene and tear it all open.

They commanded the room like no other, vocalist Jake Taylor a puppet master, controlling each crescendo and decrescendo with the flick of a wrist. Through the relentless razor sharp riffs and punishment of the cymbals, the band remained refreshingly down to earth, maintaining a motif of self love and acceptance, they preached their determination to have everyone leave with a smile. A testament perhaps to the Whitney Houston inspired breakdown and the circle pit that spanned the entirety of the packed venue. Still in complete control of the audience, the band drew the tempo down with Wildflower before bringing it all back together to make way for Northlane.

With no delay, the boys from Sydney came rumbling onto the stage with Disposession. A well suited, but invariably different performance from the last, Northlane took hold of the turn for the better. The tag team efforts of what was, at times, a nine-piece band then ensued. In Hearts Wake returned, with only increased brutality and command of the reception, reaching the pinnacle of the night with Breakaway. Northlane met this force equally well with Scarab as their response.

An ambient journey through Weightless followed, the music doing the majority of the talking for the band, with a seamless flow from one track to the next. You could have been transported to a manner of places, somewhere in between the smooth melodic phrases that seem to drip with honey, and the chainsaw guitar riffs that could have shred through the air. The perfectly timed Masquerade warranted the remains of the well-spent energy of the crowd, as the height of Northlane’s thinking man’s music was reached.
The encore could not have been more fitting, with the tight, collective efforts of the band amalgamation delivering Refuge to bring the house down, accompanied with nothing other than a well deserved eruption of cheers and confetti.