A first listen to The Preatures’ new album in the intimate setting of the Opera House’s Drama Theatre felt like an old fashioned rock’n’roll treat, but, with the exception of an exploding monitor speaker, it featured few sonic surprises.
An attractive addition to the already outstanding Vivid LIVE music program, the Sydney rockers debuted music from their follow-up to 2014’s Blue Planet Eyes, Girlhood, to a room of music execs and paying punters. Singer Izzi Manfredi strutted in black PVC flares, her stunning features framed by a mane of jet black hair. She was the striking embodiment of the late-’70s mid-tempo rock and guitar-and-organ ballads that her band’s new sound owes a lot to. Comparisons to Divinyls, The Pretenders and Fleetwood Mac are obvious, and not just for the musical similarities; Manfredi is a confident female owning her shit and relegating her male colleagues to supporting roles.
After indigenous actor/writer/musician Richard Green opened the show in poetic, humorous and mildly political fashion (“I don’t need your treaty and I don’t need your permission, but I thank you for what you’ve done for our mob”), The Preatures opened with their album title track and current single ‘Girlhood’. Of the new songs, that’s probably as fast and energetic as it got.
If their sound has deviated from the new wave of the first album at all, it’s either a step towards the slightly older wave or half a stride to the tad more modern. ‘Yanada’ featured the Alexandria Park School Girls’ Choir and brought to mind the overblown, polished songs of Mutt Lange – and not in a bad way. That familiar double-time strum underpinned ‘Cherry Ripe’, and you wouldn’t have been surprised had Goose and Maverick shown up to play volleyball to accompany the disco rock and hackneyed sentiment of ‘I Like You’.
The highlight was ‘Mess It Up’, a meaty, retro, down-tempo song built on Tom Champion’s slick R&B bassline and an alternating refrain of “I don’t know what to do with you … I’ve been stuck with you on my mind”.
It was a blessing and a curse to close with ‘Is This How You Feel?’, dedicated to former bandmate Gideon Bensen in the audience. It was a reminder that The Preatures are capable of writing a belting indie rock anthem, but that there probably isn’t a comparable tune on LP two. Nevertheless, it was a solid live preview of an album that is sure to please fans.
Photo: Daniel Boud
The Preatures played the Sydney Opera House on Thursday June 1. Girlhood is out Friday August 11 through Universal. The Preatures have just announced an Australian album tour, including a show at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday September 2. Find out more at thepreatures.com.
