Reviewed onSaturday May 7

Something is happening in Australia. If that sounds vague, it’s because the very nature of the ‘thing’ means it has to – it’s yet to be defined. Safe to say, a sound is being developed. ‘Scene’ is as silly a word as any, but when you see three world-class bands performing in fast succession, it’s hard to use any other. An Australian scene is forming. And it’s formidable.

Julia Why? unfurled a set of pop hooks that came to resemble a vast wire fence. Maintaining an ever-so-slight distance from the audience helped to weaponise their “oooh-aaah” choruses, transforming simple songs of heartbreak and regret into powerful anthems of self-realisation. It was sterling stuff, and though the audience was comparatively meagre, everyone present took the full force of the band straight in the face.

Major Leagues should be packing out stadiums. Their faces should be on shirts. Their lyrics should be tattooed on young bodies, their songs should be soundtracking the latest hospital-set sitcom weepie. They should be changing thousands of lives, rather than the hundred or so that saw them transform Newtown Social Club into a throbbing, humming hall of sound.

Though the crowd had grown considerably by the time the last band on the bill, Flowertruck, took to the stage, the same could be said of their considerable stage presence. Lead singer Charles Rushforth is equal parts David Byrne and stroke victim, a careering, bug-eyed force of nature, and his voice filled every inch of available space.

‘Sunshower’ was the song that got the most visibly enthusiastic reaction from the audience, but in truth every track trembled with life. Flowertruck are a band that flirt with excess – they always seem one bum note away from total collapse – but they are also incredibly controlled. Near destruction is a fine art, and the group have it nailed.

I don’t know what the purpose of a critic is if it’s not to tell people to listen to bands like these three. Buy their records. Wear their merch. Devote a significant portion of your life to their music. Tell your friends, tell them to tell their friends, and then celebrate this thing sitting upon your doorstep.

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