Live Review: Sures - Northcote Social Club

Despite word of Lady Gaga's boozy affair at Northcote Social Club last night, the venue shows no signs of post-shenanigans from the pop luminary and her 150-strong entourage. Instead, the High Street haunt is more of a refuge from the icy air. As if emitting heat, punters shuffle in and gravitate to the mountain of bags that's formed on the dancefloor, huddling whilst blowing into their gloveless hands. Opener Harts spells the end of the lifeless room, proving to be one dynamo of a guitarist, singer and jiver. The set is packed full of vibrant, electro-pop originals influenced by a fusion of eras, with the funk and theatrics of Bowie outweighing most. In short, this guy is definitely one to watch.

Unlike their chosen moniker, Woe & Flutter do anything but drown the room in sorrow. All four members impose quality harmonies on the now-sizable crowd, especially the lead vocalist, whose expressive lilt falls somewhere between Ben Kweller and Julian Casablancas. Relaxed banter adds to the spectacle, the most notable line being, “…our EP never sold anything, but you can buy it tonight.”

Having well and truly defrosted, the crowd cheers on Sydney act Sures as they relocate from the merch booth to the stage. One song in, the young four-piece demonstrate how they have managed to score impressive support slots this year (Wavves and Real Estate, to name a couple). Here tonight to launch their EP Stars, Sures look like a grunge outfit complete with baggy jeans and beanies, yet plough through a string of solid, indie-pop/surf melodies. Dudes at the bar mouth every word to the dreamy, smooth-sailing Poseidon, with the surf-flavoured The Sun following suit. Romeo is a mellower, indie-pop tune that has the crowd poised in silent gratitude, no doubt breaking a few young hearts in the room with the lyrics: “I am no Romeo/But then again/You're no Juliet.”

As far as performance goes, Sures come dangerously close to being upstaged by their supports. Long pauses make for awkward silences between songs, leaving the “woo”-ers in the crowd to fill in the gaps. Yet with a setlist as addictive as tonight's, all is quickly forgiven. Title track Stars is undoubtedly the pinnacle, a pulsating number that speaks to lovers of both dance and rock and one that warms us up for the chilly walk home. Above all, tonight's tonal palette is a testament to our latest crop of promising new talent.