Live Review: Dead Letter Circus, Strangers

Since the release of their debut self-titled EP in back in 2007, Dead Letter Circus have grown to become one of Australia's premier progressive rock groups. In celebration of the EP's ten-year anniversary the band have completely re-written it, breathing new life into the songs as well as a few other selected tracks from their back catalogue (to be featured on their forthcoming The Endless Mile LP). Prior to its May release, they have travelled across the country showcasing their reimagined material to live audiences, finishing up their tour in Perth. 

Strangers casually took to the stage and immediately blew the crowd away with their talent and hilarious between-song banter. This tour was the band's first attempt at acoustic arrangements and boy did they do it well! They don't need to "turn everything up and hide behind obnoxiously loud rock'n'roll," frontman Ben Britton points out. These stripped-back arrangements highlight their good songwriting and technical precision. The band clearly enjoyed playing in this venue (which Britton affectionately calls, "Satan's vagina") and the crowd clearly enjoyed their set.

Dead Letter Circus made a majestic entrance with the Game Of Thrones theme blaring. "You will not know these songs, but we will enjoy watching your faces while you try to figure it out," declares Kim Benzie before launching into the set. The truth of those words set in more and more as the set progressed. For this tour, the band expanded to include a piano, violin and cello, which added extra depth to the reworked songs.

While some songs had faint remnants of the original arrangements, such as The Veil and Silence, others sounded like completely new songs, such as country-inspired The Mile and reggae-influenced Are We Closer. Some overexcited audience members proved that you can mosh to just about anything, however most fans were happy to sit back and enjoy the sonic journey and constant surprises.

While there were no Metallica covers, much to the disappointment of one lone heckler, the night ended on a high with a massive crowd singalong to Australia's unofficial national anthem, John Farnham's You're The Voice.