Live Review: The Pop Group, Harry Howard & The NDE, Ausmuteants

Recalling the sharp, jagged angles of old-school punk and new wave pop, Geelong’s Ausmuteants deal short three-minute odes that revel in feelings of teen angst but which ultimately present a bleak look at life in suburbia. They seem youthfully naïve and kind of awkward but they know how to punch out a catchy pop song with hooks to reel us in.

Roland’s handsome brother Harry Howard laments the fact that the Corner is looking pretty empty despite the fact that a band as legendary as The Pop Group are headlining tonight. It really does feel like half of Melbourne is grooving down at Golden Plains. Howard is in total awe of The Pop Group, declaring he could never have supported them back in 1980. Howard is however no slouch himself playing for iconic Aussie bands like Crime and the City Solution and the rather wonderful These Immortal Souls. These days Howard deals a tight noisy garage pop sound that showcases his unquestionably solid songwriting, with lyrics that suggest the heart of a true romantic. It’s with an amused smirk that Dave Graney plays bass and together with Clare Moore on drums they deal out the outfit’s grinding rhythms. They don’t seem to be playing to a setlist and keys player Edwina Preston punctuates the set as she rather sternly calls out the title of the next track. Preston guest vocalises on Love Me, which Howard suggests pays homage to Plastic Bertrand.

There’s a rumour circulating around the room that Neneh Cherry might make a guest appearance at tonight’s show. It doesn’t prove to be true but doesn’t seem unlikely as Cherry was once married to Bruce Smith. Gareth Sager and Smith feature in the band’s line-up tonight – along with Cherry they joined Rip, Rig + Panic after The Pop Group dissolved in the early eighties.

If ever you longed to see 50-something year old men unleash their inner 15 and 16 year old selves then this is the gig where it would go down. It’s with the wife and children left safely at home that some of these men were able to cut loose and get on with the serious business of getting down with some truly embarrassing ‘dad dancing’.

Having released their first album in 35 years just ten minutes ago, it’s great to see The Pop Group still wield a completely incendiary sound that goes off like a bomb. They open with the unhinged mayhem of We Are All Prostitutes. Mark Stewart, sounding extremely angry and outraged, primally screams and howls with intensity as the rest of the band deal an utterly chaotic noise that moves beyond old-school punk to incorporate funk and free jazz. It’s a sophisticated blast of discordant avant-garde noise that’s exerted clear influence on bands like The Birthday Party and Sonic Youth. They reflect the ambient noise of contemporary urban life and their songs, complete with Stewart’s sloganeering and political railing, responds to their environs with unfettered rage. The setlist is littered with revered classics such as Words Disobey Me, Spanish Inquisition and We Are Time, but cuts from Citizen Zombie are as vital as anything they’ve ever released. It’s reassuring to see this legendary band has lost none of the vitality that made them great.