Reviewed onWednesday June 1 (photo by Prudence Upton)
Led by Hollie Fullbrook, Tiny Ruins are far from unknown, nor are they newcomers. They have two albums under their belt, plus an EP made by Fullbrook and The Clean’s Hamish Kilgour and a new single produced by David Lynch. Still, you wouldn’t call them a big deal, but were they deserving of a headline slot in the Sydney Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre? Yes indeed.
Fullbrook’s songwriting isn’t game-changing – it sits snugly in the singer-songwriter folk lineage. But it’s not drily derivative or superficially earnest, and this was made especially apparent via the band’s live show.
The Tiny Ruins albums provide an up-close showcase of the core elements of Fullbrook’s craft: songs led by guitar and vocals. A personal voice relates reasonably small tales of life – recollections that have gained accentuated significance over time; lived experiences sparking detailed imaginings.
But onstage – and this stage in particular – the off-kilter or unusual nature of the songs, which tends to reside in the margins on record, was fleshed out for all to see. This performance was an exercise in dynamics. Fullbrook began by playing solo, but after a few songs, the four-piece band joined, providing bass, guitar, drums, vibraphone, organ, trumpet and backing vocals. A number of new songs were featured, exhibiting a wider sound and hinting at a jazz-folk direction for the forthcoming album number three.
The songs from 2014’s Brightly Painted One were wonderfully enhanced. Guitarist Tom Healy was as much concerned with generating ambient atmosphere as he was playing traditional lead licks. Drummer Alex Freer fully understood the constructive value of restraint. Multi-instrumentalist Finn Scholes was infuriatingly proficient as he moved between organ, vibraphone and trumpet. Bass player Cass Basil was an apt offsider to the bandleader, with her backing vocals adding further intimacy.
Surrounded by such assured arrangements, Fullbrook’s songs burrowed into one’s psyche. No single song can offer the whole picture, but several of them related sentiments that resonated with our own lives – capable of refuelling our hope for a better future, whatever that might entail.
The show ended with ‘Straw Into Gold’ – probably the closest thing the band has to a hit. Fullbrook’s narration is quietly naïve, but also sharp and tenacious. Things fall apart, ambition is mocked, banks crumble, friendships fray. But the tone remains cheerful. Nearing the song’s conclusion, Fullbrook reminded us, “It’s just a matter of learning.” A Dixieland trumpet solo followed, and the collective mood was a beam of optimism.
