Ah, FBi Social. There are few places I’d rather be on a Thursday night. And tonight was no exception, with Adam Lewis’ Radiant Live returning with a vengeance thanks to headliner Richard in Your Mind. But first up were some very special guests from Melbourne, avant-pop duo Hammocks and Honey.
The duo – Prudence Rees-Lee and Alex Nosek – emerged onto the stage dressed in blue sparkle laden outfits, immediately delving into some beautiful ambient soundscapes. As the tracks became more developed, Prudence would add in her unique vocals and keys would be throw in for good measure, together formulating some pretty beautiful, artfully simple – yet technically complex – music.
Far from ordinary, Hammocks and Honey take in influences from all over the place – plenty of Massive Attack, a good dose of French Electro, and the so-bad-it’s-good high school prom 80s music (that at times reminded me a bit of Tim and Eric). Except in this instance, rather than playing to a room with high school students and disco balls, they were playing to a room full of musicians / FBi Radio types and uni kids – while they themselves were the disco balls (see my previous comment re: outfits).
With tracks like “Linear High”, named after the patch they use on the keyboard, their musical aesthetic could find itself equally in a Wes Anderson film or on the dancefloors of urban Bohemia. A diverse and truly enjoyable experience.
One band that needs no introduction (but I’ll give them one anyway) is Sydney’s Richard In Your Mind, our fine headliners of the evening, playing their first show together (as a full ensemble) since March. Alyx from Kyu, who recently returned from some overseas adventures, joined in – providing some beautiful vocals and assistance on keys and percussion.
This is a band who evoke happiness in their sonic landscapes from the word go – which, in this case, was the infectious track “Tiny Colossus Face”. Songs about setting birds free and the tracks “In the Morning”* and “Don’t Take Your Eyes Off Me”* followed, with Spod proving that the saying “Boys and their toys” actually means “Spod and his sound effects”.
A song off their forthcoming album had Richard showcase a new red guitar he purchased from Vinnies… where he works… and the band didn’t stop rocking from start to finish. Even one of their slower tracks, featuring acoustic guitar and harmonica, became an in-your-face rock and roll jam. You just can’t keep them down! The Beatles got a listen with a grand cover of “Please Please Me”, though it was an impressive harmonica jam that closed out the night.
For a band that hadn’t performed in a while, you would never have known it. They played a tight, impressive set – with a new track that shows plenty of promise. But most of all, this is a band who clearly love being up on the stage. You couldn’t have removed their smiles if you’d tried. And that’s nothing if not infectious for the crowd – who naturally showed plenty of support tonight. On that high note, we’ll catch you at the next Radiant Live!
*Possibly not the titles of the songs.
