Live Review: The Brown Study Band, Gombo, Bury The Heard, The Lunettes - Rosemount Hotel

The Rosemount was the perfect spot for the start of Gombo’s Obscurity tour, with the local alt-prog trio taking the opportunity to showcase some new tunes alongside a solid and varied selection of local acts.

Led by dual vocalists Chris Mason and Kerry Fletcher, shoegaze/pop four-piece The Lunettes started their set with a double-dose of jangly, alternative rock in Heavier The Crown and I Must Have Been Sleeping. Fletcher took the spotlight for Neon Distraction, her ode to drummer and husband Robert Bulman, which was a definite highlight. The melancholic sounds of End Of The Night saw some great harmonies from the dual singers before Bulman let loose with some sporadic drum fills, pushing the song into rockier territory before it all came crashing down in a haze of fuzzed-out, sustained guitar notes.

By final track, Same Boat, fans were up to the front head-banging along as the song reached a heavy climax.

Things took a heavier, more chaotic turn with Bury The Heard, who despite suffering some technical problems managed to keep the crowd entertained with riff-heavy, chest-beating numbers like Deceiver and Goodbye And Goodnight. Vocalist Michael Daines delivered some great rock chops on Frame before they ended the set with a frenzied jam featuring solid improvised rhythm work from bassist Oliver Proslmeyr and drummer Trent Owen.

As Gombo arrived on stage, frontman Ryan Dillon let loose the heavy riffage of Chemical before the rest of the band kicked in with full force. Paul Southern delivered a burst of dynamic drum fills while Dillon howled into the microphone before the song came to a sudden halt, leaving room for a huge response from the crowd. After a great take of Bitter End, they gave a funktacular version of BDR, bolstered by some complex harmonised guitar lines between Dillon and bassist Marco Cilli. By final track, Same Boat, fans were up to the front head-banging along as the song reached a heavy climax, the band pummelling the riff into the ground and leaving to a huge cheer from the crowd.

The Brown Study Band followed to stoke the fires a little longer, beginning with the Middle Eastern sounds of Party In The Desert. The band sounded as tight as ever as they shot through Six Weeks and The Overthrow Of King Romeo, with keyboardist and vocalist Dez Richardson keeping the audience entertained between songs. The band finished out the show with live favourite Fantasmas De Promesas Rotas and an epic version of New History Of Atlantis.