Live Review: Tonstartssbandht, Violet Swells, Small Black Lambs

Festivities during the post-Christmas, pre-New Year celebratory sandwich continued over the weekend as New Yorkers Tonstartssbandht sailed their lo-fi ship into Hobart's Brisbane Hotel.

Georgia Lucy & Karl aspired to make popcorn with the innards of a motorcycle.

The evening featured a smattering of additional acts across both rooms including an otherworldly experiment by local DIY engineers Georgia Lucy & Karl, who aspired to make popcorn with a bundle of fresh cobs and the innards of a motorcycle. Melbourne's Mandek Penha kept things suitably strange in the follow-up with their slightly twisted synth pop, a masked spectacle bordering on performance art.

It was local favourite Small Black Lambs, however, who ran away with the evening tucked under their arms. Their rollicking, rumbling brand of rock knotted together a writhing crowd, shags of hair shaking in time with swaying shoulders. Their rendition of Oxycontin was a surefire highlight; a slow-moving, woozy crossing of rolling guitar and Chris Morey's lung-wringing howls that left foreheads glistening and cheeks flushed throughout the room. A smitten crowd reluctantly let the band disembark the stage, but not without considerable resistance.

The pair of brothers had an impressively large sound that pushed out to the walls with open hands.

Tasmania's newest psychedelic export Violet Swells wove themselves gently through the interim, before Tonstartssbandht picked up the reins and rode clean away. Playing to a surprisingly small crowd compared to the local acts, they nonetheless pounded faithful ears with an energetic and captivating performance. Traversing borders somewhere between the islands of garage, country and pop, the pair of brothers had an impressively large sound that pushed out to the walls with open hands. Vocalist and guitarist Andy White was a ball of blonde flame, barely pausing for breath between numbers, while sibling and drummer Edwin Mathis kept the heartbeat caffeinated and skipping.

The set was a generous one that continually picked up pace, working the crowd into frenetics like a sonic soap into lather; at other times, it would spread itself out like the span of a field, descending into warbling psychedelic swirls. The band have a considerable discography to their name now, and the show hopped eagerly between them; Hom Hung Our Garden, the single taken from their new split 7”, made a welcome appearance. This was the boys' debut Australian tour, and their return will undoubtedly be demanded by a flock of new fans picked up along the route.