Live Review: The Laurels, World's End Press, Zeahorse, East River

East River have no problems warming a crowd up. The group's groovy, danceable sounds recall a harder-edged, more psychedelic B-52s. The audience was still slowly pouring in, but those present were ready for noise, and Zeahorse knew how to bring it. The four-piece's thick, crunchy guitar rock alternates between Pixies-style dissonant pop and sans-vocal post-rock passages - all behind overdriven and permanently pedal-effected guitar. A cover from recently visiting Rodriguez was a well-received highlight amidst the chaos.

By the time World's End Press started, The Standard was packed. The four-piece brought the funk and got the crowd moving. The group's punk funk cum garage rock grooves were perfectly suited to a cool autumn evening of energetic dancing. The band's Ratatat/Holy Fuck-styled pop grooves, including radio favourite, Second Day Uptown, did wonders for a lively audience before a decidedly non-danceable headliner.

Whilst non-danceable is a fair descriptor of The Laurels, that's not to say this foursome, one of Sydney's absolute finest, were dour. Pulling tracks from both their EP and their 2012 Plains record, the shoegazers were in great spirits. The band's effortlessly lush, noisy approach to sonics beguiles just how hard-working the group this. The Laurels don't stop moving or crafting soundscapes for a moment, with dual guitarists alternating between moments of steadfast concentration on ridiculous pedal boards and throwing their bodies to and fro to the stream of music with the audience. The band's records are great, to be sure, but hearing modern shoegaze classic, Tidal Wave, confirms that the band need to be seen live to be properly experienced. If there's any justice, in five to ten years people will look back on these smaller Laurels shows with nostalgia for a time when they weren't one of Australia's biggest exports.