written by Chris Familton

Des Miller had a tentative start to the evening with some sound issues but when he settled in he produced some wonderful music with wry lyrical observations and a cosy mix of pedal steel, acoustic guitar and keyboards. There were some overt Dylan influences alongside some dark pop sounds akin to The Chills.

Traps have been performing around the proverbial for a while now and have progressed their sound in leaps and bounds. Also beset by minor mic and guitar pedal issues they chose humour over frustration and overcame them with a sweeping and surging set of post-punk and post-rock tracks. Their songs seem to have their own rush and momentum that drives them effortlessly, even when the music appears frantic and intricate. Washes of guitar rode some solid bass playing while melodic, slacker vocals at times conjured up thoughts of a dirtier antipodean cousin of Arctic Monkeys.

6s & 7s made the long trip over from Perth as part of an East Coast jaunt to celebrate the recent release of their album Choose The Sentinel Blooze and unfortunately were greeted by a disappointingly small crowd at Melt. Those present were highly appreciative of a tight, surging set of songs that showed what a complete and complex package Josh Fontaine has put together.

Trombone, xylophone, keyboards, guitars and drums all combined to weave some gloriously rich music around Fontaine’s impressive voice. He can sound sweet and beguiling like Belle & Sebastian, drop to a Jens Lekman baritone or turn in more angular notes and phrases to ratchet up the angst and edge in his songs. Due to a less than optimal sounds mix much of his voice was lost in the billowing space of Melt but you could still appreciate the depth and richness of the eccentric pop music 6s & 7s were creating.

The epic pop single Smilin’ rounded out the set on a high with a charging rhythm and Melanie Price’s anthemic horn playing imitating the heady rush of summer. The pop element is the magic ingredient in 6s & 7s and they did a great job at managing to avoid it becoming neither sickly sweet or arrogantly cynical. Hopefully we’ll see them back here soon (Laneway Festival?) where they can impress a larger audience.

This review first appeared in Drum Media