Melbourne’s 170 Russell St was lit up over the weekend by the high energy soul-rock of Polish Club as a for a big bash celebrating the release of their new album Iguana. The Sydney duo brought along Perth group Dulcie and Melbourne locals Approachable Members of Your Local Community for the party, giving the groups a chance to show off the next generation of high energy rock coming through the pipes.
Dulcie kicked off the night, drawing the crowd in from the get-go. The foursome from Perth were a great way to open with their mellow, yet energetic music, channeling a little of Polish Club with the lyrical prowess of Odette, to create a little something of their own.
On the other hand, Approachable Members of Your Local Community have quickly carved out a niche of their own in Melbourne, the perfect energy trip before a band like Polish Club, Approachable Member’s quirks and quick fired wit combined with a variable lineup of smooth, funky hits made it an easy choice for the Polish Club boys. “Velcro”, “Semiotic Vision” and “Millenium Queen” were highlights of their set as lead singer Josh Blashki belted some heated pop lines.
Polish Club had it all during their set, a birthday celebration with cake, their flawless to-and-fro banter and some thrilling live music work that raised the spirits of every person in the room. In classic Polish Club fashion, the birthday cake (apparently for a member of the crowd) was given its own Polish Club twist as John-Henry started offering cake to all members of the crowd, grabbing big chunks and feeding it to them.
Somewhat reinventing their sound recently through the addition of thundering bass lines, Iguana was already well placed to translate into a live performance, but it’s the bold, bursting personality was exacerbated by the live shenanigans of Novak and John-Henry. The novel pair could easily break away into a stand up comedy duo, but pairing that with the music just makes it so much better.
The bass, pairing with Novak’s heated vocals worked perfectly, bringing to life a spontaneity that only a live performance can. It even worked its way through the older tracks well, fleshing out the landscape of the tracks giving some funky rhythmic meat to older recordings “Gimme Money”, “Don’t Fuck Me Over” and “Beat Up”, among many others off of Alright Already. Thankfully, Iguana has still kept the quickfire pocket rocket energy that John-Henry and Novak have been so well known for as new hits “Clarity” and “We Don’t Care” burst to life on stage.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The party on the road continues over in Adelaide this Thursday, before heading through to Hobart, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.
