Fresh Finds: Class Of 2025 – Aussie Acts To Add To Your Playlist

Live Review: The Hard Aches, Them Sharks, The Bob Gordons, Lionizer, Being Beta - Ya Ya's

Staff Writer

It's all killer, no filler with The Hard Aches, Them Sharks at Ya Ya's

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Anyone who didn't get enough of Being Beta from their opening set could take a little piece of the band home in the form of an erotic calendar. There were a number left at the end of the evening but let's put that down to their satisfying set rather than the calendar's questionable content. The four-piece's peppy synth punk was a great start to a turbo charged line-up and deserved to be seen by more.

Well-regarded Perth duo Lionizer get better with each gig. The past year has seen progressively bigger stages for their grungy melodies and lyrical petulance, as well as a Pozible-funded EP. Their performance was polished, the inclusion of single The Same Way enough alone to win new fans. Vocalist Vez Litton and drummer Bailey Lions are two to keep an eye on and will surely continue their rise.

"For the first time in the evening, crowd numbers and involvement reflected onstage talent."

Middlemen The Bob Gordons are the kind of outfit that make you want to be in a band, and if you are in a band aspire to their level of wanton abandon. Drunk rock done right – mix equal parts musicianship and humour; extract all fucks given – the boys kicked off with their anthem to self deprecation Average At Best before launching into crowd favourite Uncle Buck. For the first time in the evening, crowd numbers and involvement reflected onstage talent as a shirtless Leon 'Horse' Simpson flung his Gibson like a sweat-magnet. All killer, no filler.

Penultimate act and Perth favourite Them Sharks' ska-punk was as bright as the boys' Hawaiian shirts, and they kept the swelling crowd warm with tracks from this year's The Beasts Of Bulwer Street. Finishing their set with a tribute to the previous act, the two bands crowded the stage for a raucous shouty chorus.

Adelaide's The Hard Aches continued the family vibe, while crashing the locals-only party. Frontman Ben David is a phenomenal songwriter and a charming performer, shouting out all previous acts through the set. Comparisons to Canada's Japandroids are easy and lazy, and yet; there is something in the magnetism and thick melodies pushed forth with ease that puts The Hard Aches in the same league. Their visit to Perth was part of a mini Organs And Airports EP tour – later nights and more stopovers beckon.