Live Review: Wild Beasts, Jesse Davidson

There was so much to like about Wild Beasts’ Sydney show, but bass problems threw things off. They played beautifully, and Hayden Thorpe’s voice is a singular entity in indie music that must be experienced live at least once. It’s debateable whether it can be pinned on the venue, and a professional would have to point out any specific problems with the sound tech. The bottom line is that whenever the group opened up the bottom end (which, given their penchant for dramatic songwriting, was quite often) the structure would vibrate like a hammer drill and it shook fillings out of your head. It wasn’t great, and was a constant distraction from their impeccable setlist.

Adelaide support Jesse Davidson (and band) continues to surprise with his sophisticated songwriting. Their short set was filled with a vibrant range of colour and texture as he led his small group through some choice cuts from his soulful art-pop oeuvre. The arrangements have a lot of detail, yet feel light and dreamy rather than cold and complex. There’s a sense of balance to everything that most musicians spend whole careers trying to achieve, and the set exhibited finesse as well as potent visceral enjoyment courtesy an excellent rhythm section.

Wild Beasts are at their best when gracefully dancing through gorgeous clockwork balladry and their set covered some of their best examples. New cut, Pregnant Pause was well delivered and shifted effortlessly from fragile lullaby to steady soft rock. Palace was handled lithely and avoided getting bogged down in its relatively rote elements. This Is Our Lot was exquisite and it brushed away all the pissing and moaning about sound quality and embraced us in a warm bruised-purple soundscape of breezy guitar-driven perfection. Encore favourite, End Come Too Soon had us swooning, and we left with smiles.