Live Review: Tiny Ruins, The Tiger & Me

Melbourne's The Tiger & Me open a night of bare bones folk. Tobias Selkirk's piano accordion gives their sound a sleepy, European-street-at-night feel. Ade Vincent and Jane Hendry's duet Lady Grey is haunting. “If only they were lovers/With time back on their side,” Vincent sings as he strums his guitar. Hendry joins in with her sanguine singing and soaring violin. They deliver something equivocally heart-wrenching and -warming. A stripped-back version of Pantomime closes the set with fun abandon.
Tonight Tiny Ruins only consists of Hollie Fullbrook. Bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alex Freer have been left behind in New Zealand for the first of three shows in a 48-hour visit to our shores. It's not a huge leap for Fullbrook to make as Tiny Ruins came to life as her solo project. This evening we're treated to a preview of the band's unreleased new album Brightly Painted One, which is due out in early May. Fullbrook tell us she'll be playing the album in its entirety. Introducing opener Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens she tells a tale of being unemployed, ready to go on the dole and wishing for a job at Auckland Museum after a visit there. The track itself takes that yearning into a dreamy, romantic space. “We'll lie on the lawn/Smile so stealthily,” she sings with her distinctly hazy voice. Fullbrook's guitar work is understated. Dainty plucking on Carriages catches onto her elegant falsetto as she sings, “Find me a pair of foolproof wings/Spin me a story that unwinds and sings”. Fullbrook does just that as she explains the backstory before each track. Her hesitance is quite charming.
She tells us the midway point will see a positive change in the album's music and as we reach it tonight the effect is immediate. The one-liners are instantly lighter and fun, the melancholy scuttled away by a rolling riff or two. Take James comes bounding in. The story of Jamie Blue, a Glasgow town crier from the 18th century, is left wide open to interpretation thanks to Fullbrook's lyrical prowess: “It's the brave that fortune favours/I'm going out to bat for you,” she sings and the same can be said for our songstress. A solo showcase of your band's new album is a brave move, but it's one that pays off in spades.