Reviewed on Tuesday November 17
Gabby Huber is Maples, the Sydney performer who brought her newly formed album Two Worlds into our world last Tuesday evening to a crowded room atop the Newtown Social Club.
This is Huber’s first foray into the solo realm, having formerly released music as part of Dead Letter Chorus. Her solo work is brave, honest and nostalgic, consisting of delightful electronic compositions with a dreamy pop veneer.
The fruits of her labour (two years’ worth, in fact) is the ten-track LP, crafted across eight different recording studios, with three tracks co-written by The Presets’ Julian Hamilton. Production was a joint effort between Huber and Dave Symes (of Sarah Blasko and Boy & Bear fame), while Tim Whitten handled mixing duties.
Huber stepped out onto a beautifully lit stage that recalled flitting fireflies, and worked methodically through her new material, with tracks such as ‘Be Free’, ‘Stars’, and ‘Ever Longing’. It wasn’t long before she had dazzled the audience, and she cemented her status as a class-A performer when she delivered an acoustic version of Martha Wainwright’s ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’. Huber embodied Wainwright’s spirit, capturing her energy, and even stepping it up a notch by taking her performance into the middle of the crowd. She wrapped the night with two encores, which the crowd went absolutely nuts for.
The night has confirmed what we already knew upon the album’s release: Huber has created a beautifully ambient, electronic pop record that demands attention. Maples could be the pop act Sydney has been waiting for.
