Live Review: The Lemon Twigs, Mossy

"Ahhh!" It's Tuesday night at The Curtin and opening act Mossy delivers a decidedly dark monologue to get things started. "The devil in me," he repeats again and again over a monotonous thudding of effects, evoking images of post-punkers Suicide. Mossy is sans band tonight and instead performs over pre-recorded tracks, using voice as his primary tool as he paces the stage, by turns yelping and crooning like some kinda gothic Gary Numan. His slow, moody, trip hop-inspired tunes give the audience a chance to settle in.

After a 45-minute break, the crowd is chomping at the bit for what most are hoping will be an exercise in the wonderfully weird. Finally, New York up-and-comers The Lemon Twigs take the stage, two of their four members dressed only from the waist down, and immediately break into their single I Wanna Prove To You. The audience is fixated.

This band is the creation of brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario (20 and 18 years of age) who share lead guitar, vocals and drumming duties and are backed up by a tight ensemble of keys and bass. It's clear from the starting gate that this is the Brother D'Addario show as the boys from Long Island take centre stage, strutting, screaming and just oozing rock'n'roll cool from every angle of their pale, skinny frames. Older brother Brian sings us through the first half of the set on guitar while Michael's distractingly idiosyncratic drumming does more than just keep the beat. The second half of the show is punctuated by a swapping of roles as Michael now stands front and centre to deliver their songs. After some (very) minor technical difficulties, our new frontman shows us exactly what he's made of. Topless, fearless and with a perfectly groomed head of hair by way of Keith Richards circa 1972, this kid is a bona fide rockstar. His wild and seemingly uncontrollable kicks and squirms as he rips out one screeching solo after another help raise the slow-bubbling excitement of the audience, but these affectations are no match for the energy that's brought to the table by the band. The band are here to play and play they do.

The Lemon Twigs expertly walk the tightrope between enthusiastic nostalgia act and ground-breaking futurists. But, make no mistake, they are their own band - wholly original and bursting at the seams with potential and ambition - and this performance proves just that. The Lemon Twigs are the real fucking deal.