First recorded a decade ago but shelved at the time, Gunns’ single Peppermint Waves has finally resurfaced — remixed and mastered, ready for the world. It’s a synth-laden indie pop track full of lovely, lingering melodies.
Is there such a genre as post-bubblegum? If not, we’re coining it now. How else do you describe lyrics like “I wish forever I was by the ocean – in a house I made from peppermint”?
Alongside the lolly lyrics, the music is catchy and danceable, with memorable riffs from both synth and guitar. It sits nicely within the Perth sound popularised by bands like Pond, blending a touch of 80s post-punk with modern production. The guitar solo is big and warbling, with a nice lift from the layered lead lines.
We may never know exactly what the original version sounded like, but credit to Gunns for bringing it back — it’s been well worth the wait.
Abbe May, Perth/Boorloo’s favourite rock-singing demon, returned to the incomparable Mojo’s Bar with her band of voodoo blues weirdos and hypnotised the packed house.
Who better to start the night than fine blues guitar solo act Georgia Rodgers. With nothing but a Tele and just a hint of looper, the Melbourne/Naarm songwriter wowed the crowd with originals and her own version of Smalltown Boy by Bronski.
Confident and full of twelve-bar jam-outs, originals like Cambodia came across as loose and laid back, but heavy when necessary. There is something spectacular about a person who can get up on stage with nothing but an electric guitar and a voice, with no band to hide under. When done well, it can be oh so powerful. Georgia did it right and it was a perfect opener to warm up the ever-growing crowd.
Finn Alexander and The Forever Party next, and they delivered a rock set full of big moments. The Freo locals on the rise had a huge presence on stage, with violinist Elise Hiatt mobile and making the most of the space. Opening with Married to the Machine suited the night well, with the folky-rock track up there with their best.
Playing good, hard indie-rock with that Freo twang and hints of The National — Finn and the band have been going hard lately, and it shows. With plenty of long hair flying about as they rocked out (special mention to bassist Patrick Nielsen’s knight-of-the-round-table, 70s rock band look), the room was now packed, sweaty, and ready to let The Devil in.
Time for the main event. Abbe May is a well-known force of nature — masked up in a black Donnie Darko rabbit look, she did not disappoint. You could hardly get a more appropriate bunch of musos to play with than these rough and ready misfits.
The band and crowd were in full party mode; the creek (Aussie swamp) voodoo tunes were perfect for the dancefloor. With hats not out of place in 70s era Dylan, and fiddle to match, the Devil band were tight and heavy and having a good time. Special mention to Todd Pickett who is a drummer possessed, if ever I saw one.
Most of the tracks were taken from the Hoodoo You Do album, but the crowd was also treated to more fine Abbe songs — pony covers and a few new ones to entice the crowd, with Crush It, Snort It a standout. Loose and swampy with a catchy chorus, it hit the audience with a bolt-like connection. New album coming? Hell yes — release the devil. It’s been too long.
All-round great vibes and a friendly audience in the mood for the party, The Devil and Abbe May killed it, resurrected it, and let it out into the night.
Nick Cave has been good to Perth (unlike his bass player’s band who have not been to Perth since the nineties. Come on Colin, let the other Radioheads know it’s a nice place to visit), with regular visits in one form or another. Last time he toured with the bad seeds was about a decade ago, so the audience appeared itching and ready to hear how the years have aged the band (like fine wine, to use the cliche).
Playing in the spacious setting of Fremantle Park, and down the road from my old high school, Nick and the band put on an arena sized show with giant screens and lights to boot, and boy did they bring the scale. From Wild God on this fan was blown away by the bigness of it all, and happy to see the veteran performer at his best. How age and experience conditions performers always amazes me. Every time “Bring your spirit down” popped up on the big screens the chills spread further through this reviewers body and justified the spending of the standard high ticket price on a show that left me reliving moments for days.
Performing mostly tracks from the Wild God album, with some classics and deep cuts in between, noone in the audience seemed unhappy (apart from the usual jerks yelling requests – please audiences, never do this unless asked by the performer, let them play the show they have practiced so hard to get right). Emotional, exhilarating, it had it all. When he closed solo on the piano playing the now recontextualised Into My Arms, the emotion was hard to contain. Thank you Nick and band, and please keep coming and sharing your hearts with us.
Before ending the review, I must make special mention of Aldous Harding, who I’ve only discovered a few weeks ago after my wife told me she’s supporting, and thank god she told me. I’ve since been absolutely blown away and obsessed with the brilliant NZ performer. Aldous walked on like she hadn’t seen a crowd of this scale before and wanted to ignore us and pretend she was in her room at home, but she brought an incredible vocal range and intensity that had this reviewer feeling chills. From tongue in cheek (Leathery Whip) to pure emotional outpouring (Horizon), she was a perfect warm up to the main show. Can’t wait to hear new material from Aldous this year, and fingers crossed a tour of her own to Perth.
