Live Review: The Harpoons, Anatole, Embassy

Brighton Up is a small bar, but it was perfect for an intimate line-up on this Friday with two fine young local producers supporting a group from down south who are rising fast.

Embassy, aka Edward Lyons, is a regular on the Sydney scene with a feel for deep grooves, and his palette ranged from his haunting rendition of Daughter’s Love – renamed Loveless – to a crowd-pleasing, down-pitched and dirty version of Freddie Gibbs’ Shame, and a smooth reinvention of Mariah Carey’s We Belong Together with gorgeous live vocals from Chiara Kim.

While Anatole, aka Jonathan Baker, is straight out of classical training at the Con, he too has a taste for hip hop and electronic magic a la Bonobo. He threw out tracks from his Westbrook EP, launched in May, and a few new numbers too, flowing effortlessly from ethereal and delicate to big east coast beats.

The tight room packed out for Melbourne’s The Harpoons. They’ve shored up a cult following on just two songs, supporting the likes of Soko, Saskwatch and Architecture in Helsinki, and tonight shows they’ve got plenty more up their sleeves.

Brothers Henry and Jack Madin write perfect R&B pop songs – forget Usher and The Weeknd. They bless modern production with the freshness of old school Motown sounds and tinges of innocence that still get overtaken by the urge to burn up the dancefloor.

Bec Rigby’s incredible voice was the star, ranging from soft and smooth to a sassy snarl. She flecked first single, Unforgettable, with variations that make a standout live performance. But the boys held their own: fourth member and percussionist Martin King (of Oscar + Martin fame) crooned up a storm, sharing a palpable chemistry with Rigby for tracks including Can We Work This Out, with the Madin brothers, both on guitars, providing sweet harmonies throughout.

Their debut LP, Falling For You, is out 26 Sep and there’s no doubt they’ll be back on bigger stages next time – catch them up close while you can.