PeaceYoung Brisbane outfit Millions gave us a lively set of jangly pop tunes played with their usual panache and professionalism. Their banter and down-tuned demeanour yielded little in the way of enthusiasm or energy, but that belied the excellent musicianship they have to offer. Their MO is to refract clean cut '50s pop songs through a prism of contemporary more-ness: more volume, more attitude, more reverb and more guts. Sunny melodies and breezy arrangements carefully cut from the same cloth as their long-distant forefathers are electrified and amplified tenfold, while gunshot snare hits straightened backs and got feet stamping. Vocals from Dominic Haddad were top rate (as usual), and his unique micro-warble still impresses with its range and pitch. It's not unlike Chris Chu from The Morning Benders (aka POP ETC). Their songs are not showy and neither is their presence; they let their excellent songwriting do the talking. Another great set from a band that deserves far more recognition.
Birmingham quartet Peace completed their first tour here with their show at the OAF, and put on a decent one. Whilst their blustery set had a sense of urgency and power, it peaked around the halfway mark in terms of energy and plateaued from there. Their songs are an admirably catchy mashup of trippy Stone Roses guitar swirls and punchy Britpop sensibilities, but none of it was terribly original or memorable. They're an affable lot, and never sank into rock-star self-seriousness, preferring to chat to a boisterous crowd and get on with playing their music. It was a refreshing balance to an otherwise familiar sound that too often brought to mind slouching British gits in leather coats from the late '90s. Their first full-length, In Love, featured heavily, and a neat cover of Disclosure's White Noise popped up but unfortunately sailed over many heads. They transformed the frothy dance number into a swaggering, sneering roadhouse blues ballad; a defiinite highlight.
Peace aren't destined to change the face of indie music, but as a touring band they deserve a good career. They played for the audience, not themselves, and didn't treat the gig like a box to tick on the way to ticket royalties. The mix was great, they played well (extra points to guitarist Douglas Castle – great axeman) and there's always room for more throwback Britpop, even if it's slightly derivative.
