Reviewed onThursday December 1
It’s a strange experience when you encounter a somewhat stagnant audience at any Aussie gig, especially when the performance doesn’t call for it. We do, after all, hold a reputation for boasting some of the world’s most receptive audiences. Maybe it was the early-ish set time but, to start, the response to Hein Cooper was a little awkward despite some warm applause. Nonetheless, The Basement filled out come the end of Cooper’s performance, with smiles all round.
Across a mostly acoustic set Cooper worked his cruisy, costal indie-pop accompanied only by bassy backing tracks and whatever he could conjure with his loop pedal to enjoyable effect. While his set-up could otherwise invoke criticisms of predictability, Cooper’s smart choice of tunes created nice variation – especially when he delivered Aloe Blacc’s ‘I Need A Dollar’, the crowd finally starting to groove a little. Cooper’s nicely layered and looped ‘Luna Sky’ snared the room’s attention even more, before crowd favourites ‘Rusty’, the ‘Pumped Up Kicks’-flavoured ‘Overflow’ and ‘Art Of Escape’ saw grins bouncing between Cooper and a buzzy floor.
Co-headliner Lanks, AKA Will Cuming, kicked off with a swift lick of the drums – admittedly something that would have amped up dynamics for Cooper’s set beforehand – and his single ‘Holla’, distorted electronic wail and all. Thanks to Cooper’s efforts to build a neat amount of energy across the room, Cuming’s early drop of his huge track ‘Heavy As a Heartbreak’ with Just A Gent proved an unexpected but juicy live version and upped the fun.
From the electronic-soaked ‘Golden Age’ to a solo acoustic spot and a flute solo, no less, Cuming kept things fun and vibrant as he poured out tracks from his Viet Rose and Banquet EPs. His tracks ‘Bitter Leaf’ and ‘April’ were real highlights, showcasing the artist’s ability to pen both intimate yet energetic electronic jams, and winding, emotional acoustic tracks.
All in all, Cooper and Cuming are a duo that make sense on paper for a co-headline tour – talented solo artists with a penchant for acoustic guitars, loop pedals, bassy electronics and strong vocals – but it’s in the live setting that you really experience their talent, strengths and individuality, even if it takes the crowd a few songs to digest their performances.
