Live Review: Swervedriver, Sounds Like Sunset, Grinding Eyes, The Holy Soul

Guitars, amps, effects pedals and volume were the order of the night for Swervedriver's return to Australian shores. Local rock'n'roll fringe dwellers The Holy Soul were the best of the support acts with a raw, brittle and at times brilliantly inventive set. They showed once more why they are the city's best kept secret with their fusion of Pere Ubu, Television, The Gun Club and Can. 

Grinding Eyes look like a band who worship at the altar of BRMC, The Cult, The Black Angels, etc. With a psychedelic video backdrop and plenty of dry ice they hit some compelling rhythmic grooves but it all felt too much like style over substance in terms of their songs. A band to watch nonetheless.

Sounds Like Sunset, like The Holy Soul, are Sydney live perennials and their short set showcased their wall of sound approach. High volume gave their songs an eye of the hurricane feel with Dave Challinor's sleepy, melodic vocals drifting above the thunderous squalls and providing the perfect segue to the headliner.

Swervedriver have managed the transition from reunited touring act to a fully functioning band with the release of last year's I Wasn't Born To Lose You. Opening with Autodidact, that album's first track, they immediately showed that the newer songs have earned the right to sit among such iconic songs as Rave Down, Son Of Mustang Ford and Last Train To Satansville. The band, featuring their newest recruit in bassist Mick Quinn (Supergrass), included half of their most recent album in the set and, though the songs were more nuanced and less visceral than the band's '90s output and the attention of the audience ebbed and flowed through the night, they showed they still possess the key elements of their sound — inventiveness and propulsion. Adam Franklin remains a man of few words, though he did make a joke at the expense of "the worst fucking band" Guns N Roses and made a sly and topical reference to their homeland as an insular island nation.