written by Chris Familton

Three shades of psychedelia were the order of the night at OAF as part of The Lovetones brief Australian tour before they venture back to the East and West Coasts of the USA.

Up and coming six-piece The Prayer Circle kicked things off with their swirling shoegaze sound that time warps us back to the 80s and that time when the likes of Galaxie 500, and Spaceman 3 were concocting their hazy music. The Prayer Circle had a nice balance to their sound with the bouncing Lani adding a lovely vocal to ease the ‘boys noodling on guitars’ vibe. Once they add a bit more definition to the drifting sound they’ll be a band to keep an eye on.

The Laurels need no introduction and as usual delivered a solid and invigorating set. Frontmen Luke O’Donnell and Piers Cornelius are always fascinating to watch with O’Donnell’s Cobain-esque stage demeanor of grand jerky gestures, wringing the notes and distortion from his guitar. Cornelius provides the foil with his Alex Turner looks and dreamier stage state. Musically they seem to be adding some crunch and stronger structure to their songs and mid set played a brilliant tune that was upbeat, edgy and almost Vines-like with darker post punk guitar lines threading through it. Let’s hope their album is just around the corner.

The Lovetones have been plying their psych rock trade for a few years now and with each new album they refine their sound to its essence of mood and a heady rush of melody. Tonight the band seemed in a buoyant mood, joking with the crowd and each other. From the first song it was clear what immense talent frontman Matthew Tow possesses. With his 12 string electric and controlled, strong voice he seemed supremely confident on stage – something that only works when you have the songs to back it up. The Lovetones do and they proceeded to dip into the back catalogue as well as highlighting some of the sparkling Byrds-esque psych pop tracks from the new record Lost. The set ended with Tow literally taking the music to the people by handing his guitar to the front row for the punters to add their own amateur solos.

The Lovetones showed tonight that they are a sonic and songwriting match for scene figureheads like Brian Jonestown Massacre and as such deserve plaudits for their progressively refined songs.

this review first appeared in Drum Media.

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