Reviewed onTuesday July 26
With Jake Bugg bringinghis unique brand of country-emo to the State Theatre stage for his Splendour sideshow, the Brits were out in such force in the stalls and onstage that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d taken a wrong turn home and ended up in Manly.
Donning the kind of black pleat jeans that could belong to a praying mantis, indie rockers Blossoms set the scene with a pulsating beat akin to early Muse, with lead singer Tom Ogden demonstrating a gentle feminine tone that harmonised beautifully with the backing vocals of bassist Charlie Salt. There was no chit-chat, just straight into the music with knee-bouncing rhythms carried by synth and keyboards. On ‘Charlemagne’ the band offered subtle reggae beats atop some appealing ’80s synthpop, the shaggy manes ever flopping. The standout song was ‘Deep Grass’, a reggae/indie fusion, crisp and low and making for a great show of control as they manipulated the melody with interesting rhythms and a nice little drum and synth run. Blossoms – their hair is better than yours.
As Jake Bugg took to the stage, he showed all the personality of a wet cloth: only animated once dipped in alcohol. Beige personality aside, his music holds strange voodoo qualities – without having previously heard his songs, your body involuntarily moves to his entrancing sound, the persona of Johnny Cash channelled through a voice like Brian Molko’s.
Throughout his set, Bugg touted an impressive number of cutesy melancholic licks on his guitar. ‘Old Man’, performed live for the first time, is a song as quiet as Bugg himself: a gorgeously crafted ballad, and without the frills of his backing band, it was an uncompromising chance to hear the clarity of his amazing voice.
Much of Bugg’s music draws on elements from across pop history – ‘Never Wanna Dance’ had a great ’90s indie feel with a funky solo, whilst ‘Taste It’ was a rendition of ’50s surf pop that met the Oriental, making for a delicious feast of guitars and original sounds.
He veered away from the setlist to deliver fan favourite ‘Broken’, and met with a gentle lull of audience voices, the powerful story behind this song made for a stunning closer, bringing the entire crowd to its feet for a standing ovation. The whole performance took a trip through time, grabbing at musical elements from each of the last several decades to deliver a sweet fusion of genres blended with a dark country influence. And at the foundation of it all, a once-in-a-lifetime voice.
