Music > Live Reviews

Oddbox presents..@ The Murderers

14/05/16

Oddbox’s music night began just over a year ago, and it is a flash of insight from promoter, Georgie Cox, to place the night in what I always assumed was a pub for old boys and football, The Murderers. On the second Friday of every month Oddbox Promotions taps its Cinderella wand and transforms the pub into an always packed out, always free hotspot for new local music

Peach Club are the band I've always wanted to be in. A bunch of energetic punk kids, though their performance is a little stagnant on stage (bar for the front woman, who tells me her performance style is inspired by Charlie XCX. We all have our secrets.) They greet us: 'We're Peach Club and we do feminist punk'; it's all very post Bikini Kill Kathleen Hanna. The vocals are strong, the band are solid. Nothing too complex is going on but it's refreshing to see four girls doing punk, singing punk, playing punk. When the band gets heavy it's great, the vocals hit a grit here and there that I'd love to see more of.

Sink Ya Teeth are next, and are the band I came to see in honesty. I loved Girl in a Thunderbolt and am interested in Maria's new project with Gemma, who brings a bass guitar to the stage, which is sparse: a floor tom, a snare, a sampler, and synthesizer. The first couple of songs reflect this – the bass serves a percussion along with the drums, the vocals take centre stage. The sound is intricate and mature, the vocals are excellent. The rest of the set is filled with new wave dance sounds, the beats remind me of Joe Goddard, but doomier. There's plenty of room for play. I love it.

The first two acts are hard to follow, and Marla, for me, doesn't cut it. I find this particular brand of indie rock bland at best, although plenty of the audience seem to be into it. With indie disco beats (think Maximo Park with Alt J – esque wavers) the music should be high energy, but there is a lack, which is filled with vocals which are somewhat over potent. A friend commented on the 'wall of sound'. That being said, the venue is packed, the band is tight and seem to be having fun on stage, and pockets of people are dancing.

The overall night is fun and interesting, and Georgie always manages to put together a show which meets the musical necessities of a wide audience. Not a night to miss.