Live Review: THE STEADY AS SHE GOES, OCCULTS, BEN SALTER, KATE JACOBSON & OLA KARLSSON

Starting off the night in the front bar is a truly acoustic set as Texas Tea-ian Kate Jacobson and Gin Club stalwart Ola Karlsson play a brace of hushed folk and country-tinged tunes without the aid of amps or microphones. A stillness descends over the raptured audience as the duo's harmonies melt into each other – a lovely way to begin the evening.
A last-minute inclusion, Ben Salter takes to the back stage in electric mode and becomes a veritable one-man-band, guitar slung at the hip and foot-stomped tambourine keeping time. He has been incorporating more electronics into the mix, but as the guitar loops, beats and choral effects mount, it is Salter's impassioned voice and the strength of his songwriting that remains the focal point. Highlights include a contemplative Once In A Lifetime, The Cat and the beautifully wry yet heart-wrenching West End Girls, while a few new tracks seep into the mix.
Melting out of the strangely staid country playlist in between sets like black molten lava, Occults change the mood irrevocably, all seething menace and malevolent glee. Their gothic garage-punk is one of the most revelatory experiences in the Brisbane music scene at the moment, and it's a testament to the trio that this still resonates on a bill that sees them playing against type. Sam McKenzie's menacing vocals and basslines, Jasmine Dunn's lurking guitar and Bruce McNairn's thumping drums all coalesce into a seething beast.
Standing on stage like a Machiavellian harbinger of death and despair, The Steady As She Goes launch into a set made up of the tracks that constitute debut record Dangerous & Dead. The guitar slinger melds together Morricone guitar twang and tension with gothic dread, creating a studied sojourn into a dystopian loner's view of the world. From the seductive swagger of Give Me War to the desolate instrumental title track, The Steady As She Goes commands attention. Regardless of whether it is the moody crawl of Sinking City and Ironmonger, or the '80s new wave netherworld that Pagan! Tell Your God To Ready For Blood echoes – The Steady As She Goes occupies a very unique corner of the local music scene, and are an exciting proposition for the future.