Live Review: Stonefield, Dreamtime, Sacred Shrines

In keeping with the space-rock theme, Brisbane's Sacred Shrines lay their garage-rock souls bare on stage. The fivesome certainly set the tone with impressive vocals sending us into outer space. A tight and tidy set from a group of clearly seasoned professionals who are definitely ones to watch.

A quick break and a Maker's Mark-minute later, locals Dreamtime take to stage after a slight technical hitch, bringing their mystical mix of maudlin and mayhem with a dreamy set of spacey synth rock. If the crowd weren't already suitably lucid, Dreamtime's hauntingly visceral vocals and hypnotic hymns lured the room into a state of sonic bliss with their almost-meditative tones.

We eagerly await the arrival of the Findlay sisters, aka Victorian four-piece Stonefield, it's not hard to keep warm with whiskey shots flying fast across the bar.

Clean off the back of support slots for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's 2018 Wrong Creatures tour, the hardworking sisters have spent the past few months doing a US residency. Recently returning to home shores to blast their unique brand of psych prog-rock into eager ears to celebrate the release of their third studio album Far From Earth, Stonefield bring their '70s-inspired sounds to the stage around 10.30pm wearing suitably '70s threads.

The band open with a room-rousing rendition of Delusion, a rich and heavy, riff-ridden track. We strap in for a wild ride ahead. This track is fast followed up with the title track from their latest album, a lighter departure toward the more psychedelic sounds we're used to from the outfit, and suddenly there's lift-off and we're transported to extra-terrestrial territory.

Changes from As Above, So Below reminds the crowd of Stonefield's smoother, sliding riffs of yonder year. The sisters aptly belt out, "Everything is changing, everything is changing", and they're not wrong. Visions takes us on a darker, more overtly prog-rock diversion while the sultry and flawless vocals of drummer/lead singer Amy melt the hard edges away.

The set punctuated by euphoric jams, the likes of Celestial Spaces sees the sisters effortlessly layering lucid guitars and prog-rock synth sounds with effortless fervour. Fearlessly fusing together haunting harmonies in a rich and textural sonic soundscape, Stonefield bring their beautiful blend of badassery and easily take the crowd on a blissed-out ride to the other side.