Reviewed onThursday December 10
H A N N A H B A N D like their space. They like spaces between each letter of their band name and they like having room onstage, being there’s only two of them up there. It’s an interesting contrast, then, that their music is often quite busy and boasts minimal gaps; a flurry of crashing drums and the churn of a baritone guitar guiding what are ostensibly upbeat indie rock numbers. Theirs is a fascinating mix of the instantly accessible and the intentionally jarring – one minute it’s a catchy chorus, the next it’s a screech-and-crash breakdown that’s at once completely uncharacteristic and exactly in their nature.
Mere Women, by means of juxtaposition rather than contrast, hold similar stock in terms of layered song structure and genre-blending. It’s maybe colder and softer in its approach, but no less intense – choice cuts from 2014’s Your Town still have a lot of life left in them; their steely post-punk elements gelling with the looser math-rock side of things on ‘Home’ and the slow-burn of ‘Hands And Face’. The trio also premiere a new song; a further strengthening of their sound that also indicates where they make take it next. Unquestionably one of Sydney’s most consistently interesting bands.
As the main support for this entire tour, Melbourne’s Ceres (say it “series”) have had to bring their A-game every night to go round-for-round with the headliners. It’s with this in mind that the following point is brought to the table: there has never been a better time to see this band than right now. Vocalist Tom Lanyon has embraced their cult status, leading passionate, raised-arm singalongs to tracks like ‘I Feel Fine, I Feel Sick’ and the simple, effective ‘Jam Song’. With hearts firmly on sleeves, Ceres have undoubtedly proven to be a wise long-term investment.
Of course, even their loudest sing-alongs can’t compare to when Worcester heartbreakers The Hotelier arrive and dish out highlights from their exceptional 2014 LP, Home, Like Noplace Is There. This being their maiden voyage to Australia, it’s immediately apparent that the lion’s share of the crowd have been waiting for quite some time to hear these songs in the flesh. A new track, the extensive ‘Sun’, is a promising preview of their next LP, and there’s barely a dry eye in the room when frontman Christian Holden performs ‘Housebroken’ on his own. A return cannot come soon enough.
