Live Review: Swervedriver, All We Want To, Mosman Alder

It seems like young locals Mosman Alder have been quiet of late, but you wouldn't know it by the assured and confident way they kick off proceedings tonight. The six-piece elicit great wafts of texture and atmospherics amidst their well-crafted arrangements, and even when it drifts into discordant and even atonal territory it still sounds alluring. There's depth and gravitas on display, and they finish by building closer Tokyo 1933 into a melodious cacophony.

Fellow Brisbanites We All Want To are up next and Skye Staniford holds the reins for opener Shine, which they too wind into a massive crescendo. It's clear that they've beefed up their sound for the occasion and this meatier aesthetic suits them well, co-frontman Tim Steward offering the frenetic Ramp Up The Bleeding – using the dual female vocals of Staniford and bassist Mel Fraser to great effect – and the solid Trigger Fingers. This line-up of the band has gelled perfectly, and the new songs they throw into the mix are resoundingly strong, finishing with a laidback rendition of Japan – which veers close to Fleetwood Mac territory – and another powerful new number, Road To Ruin.

There's a respectable and requisitely enthusiastic crowd assembled by the time UK veterans Swervedriver arrive and turn back the clock by thundering into 1991 debut Raise, the swirling walls of impenetrable guitars which signify opener Sci-Flyer augmented by entirely appropriate road visuals which are blasted behind them for the duration. Frontman Adam Franklin calls the shots and manipulates his bank of pedals as they rip through Pile-Up and onto the incredible Son Of Mustang Ford, the album highlight completely pulverising and amounting to a visceral assault on the senses. Familiarity with the album isn't a barrier for enjoyment because the sound's so full and the songs so powerful, the fragrant vitality of numbers like the reflective Deep Seat and the gorgeous Rave Down bewitching in the extreme. The duelling guitar lines of Franklin and Swervies co-founder Jimmy Hartridge peer through the dense surrounds and mid-tempo squalls of Sunset, and they finish with the pulsing Feel So Real, the measured Sandblaster and the slinky album closer Lead Me Where You Dare..., allegedly being played for the first time ever tonight. They leave the stage but of course there's more, and they soon re-emerge for a quick career overview which includes gems such as Last Train To Satansville, brand new single Deep Wound – their first new track in over a decade – Never Lose That Feeling, Cars Converge On Paris and Duel, but the damage had already been done with that initial Raise salvo. Still a great band and a great album, even some twenty years after the fact.