The Pearl Harts + Kulk + Telling Truths
It has been the best part of four years since I saw The Pearl Harts destroy the Arts Centre with an immense set. Can they match it tonight?
First up are Telling Truths. The local five-piece play relatively straight-ahead rock with hints of nu-metal. They have a powerful sound. Georgi has a rich voice. The twin guitars or Rich and Adam mesh well. Bassist Natalie and drummer Daniel provide a potent rhythm. The band are clearly good at what they do. They are talented musicians with decent songs, if a little derivative polite.
It's an allegation that can never be levelled at Kulk. After a deceptively gentle start, the duo rip into a set that is some kind of unholy mutant offspring of anarchopunk - think Crass, Rudimentary Peni and Flux of Pink Indians - and the sludgy stoner doom of the likes of Sunn O))), Sleep or Melvins. Out front, guitarist/vocalist Thom has the looks - and moves - of a young Mark (Mudhoney) Arm with a touch of Iggy Pop. At the back Jade Ashleigh hammers away at the kit like a demon and has grown massively in confidence and skill since I first saw the band six months ago at NAC. Kulk don’t have any songs in the conventional verse-chorus sense but their savage noise is utterly thrilling and the performance borders on awesome in the true sense of the word.
Kulk are a hard act to follow but The Pearl Harts pull it off in some style. With an intro tape that sounded, to my jaded ears, like, Patti Smith’s "Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine..." speech, Kirsty and Sara tear into their powerfully feral blues-punk-rock ‘n’ roll. Theirs is a sound that is rooted in classic rock and blues but given an edge with the injection of DIY attitude, punk energy and riot grrrl spirit. There may be superficial similarities with other guitar-drums duos – Black Keys, White Stripes – but The Pearl Harts have a sound of their own with early single Skeleton Made of Diamonds a standout in what is a very strong set. Tonight, they absolutely blew my socks off with a cracking performance.
