Live Review: Teeth & Tongue, Montero, Darren Sylvester - Howler

Backed by dim lighting and delicate, white strobes, Darren Sylvester and band seem primed for a hazy bar scene in a David Lynch film. Revelling in the retro vibes, two female backing vocalists sway in unison. Together the four-piece swim through brooding, spacious electro-pop, riddled with '80s drum-claps, echoing, pre-recorded synths and Too Hot For Love's foundation-shaking bass.   

A mixture of conservative librarian types and slackers on a tropical holiday.

Groovy soft-rockers Montero are an eccentric bunch; a mixture of conservative librarian types and slackers on a tropical holiday. Unleashing a world of earnestness, their keyboard-driven melodies move from clean-cut saccharine pop to clashing epicness. Throughout their set, diva frontman Ben Montero throws his hands about dramatically, conducts Pilates with his mic and flounces down onto the stage floor. Adding to their thoroughly entertaining performance, drummer Cameron Potts could join a metal outfit with his level of unabashed enthusiasm for the kit, not to mention his hair-flinging head thrusts.

Alt-popper Teeth & Tongue, AKA Jess Cornelius, celebrates the release of her third album, Grids, with a five-piece band in tow. A total smoothie, she's garbed tonight in leather pants and a shiny orange chiffon dress. Cornelius performs with one hand raised above her head, conducting her fellow bandmates with momentous swings of her arm. Her effortlessly powerful range and soaring pipes are backed by reverb-drenched guitar, punchy basslines and supporting vocalist Jade McInally's busy thrashes of the tambourine. One of the set's best aspects is the fantastic interplay of bold harmonies between these two women, who utterly impress with Good Man's deep, staccato lashes.

Each distinct number begins with a loud, heart-stopping bang.

Each distinct number begins with a loud, heart-stopping bang – from the uplifting Easy Living, to the jangly Family Home, through to the considered, chamber-pop dynamics of Going South. The wild vocal gymnastics of I Feel Good channels Kate Bush in its brilliantly executed, theatrical high notes. Though each song is followed duly by shrieking applause, the crowd's interest only fully piques for the rolling, jungle beats of Newborn. Laura Jean, who features on this single, joins the band on stage here to inform another captivating female duet.

Between gloriously operatic musical showdowns, Cornelius is singularly outgoing and friendly. Perhaps this informal attitude accounts for many individuals' belief that she's their personal best friend, and their subsequent desire to loudly interrupt much inter-band chatter. However Cornelius' joy and enthusiasm is consistently maintained. In equal parts enchanting and playful, Teeth & Tongue radiantly round off a successful night of unique takes on retro revivalism.