Music / Reviews
Review: Belair Lip Bombs, The Louisiana – ‘Raucous rock from Aussie up-and-comers’
This gig marks the very start of the tour for The Belair Lip Bombs, a fact that lends the night oodles of elation and energy. The Australian four-piece has heaps of imminent shows, from a sold-out soirée in London to a neat road trip through France. No rest for the up-and-coming.
This is a band with a serious sense of swagger. In short bursts, I hear the flippancy and edginess of early Blondie; in others, dank guitar riffs are reminiscent of The Strokes. But comparison is a cruel plaything; The Belair Lip Bombs have their own thing going on.
Not that it’s easy to pin down. And not that that matters. This is a rock band with real versatility, where punky numbers give way to pop-oriented new wave. Quintessential indie lingers in the shadows, ever-ready to rear its head.
is needed now More than ever
None of the shifts feel forced. All of them feel fun.
And the common denominator is volume.
Amid the thrashy turns, each verse feels like an ode to the low range from frontwoman Maisie Everett. Stylistically it works, bringing a moody feel to the music, but many of the lyrics and melodies are muddied by something in the mixing.
Show opener Look The Part sets the pace, a noisy track full of longing offset by airy backing harmonies. Gimme Gimme doubles down on the general sentiment (“I got a feeling that I want your love. Infatuation, it’s a kind of drug”) before Walking Away momentarily slows things down.
It takes a good few tracks to reach our first real downturn bridge — Things That You Did also marks the clearest exhibition of Everett’s soulful vocal range.
Breaking through the sea of dissonance, Say My Name is an instant rock classic that sets the tone for their debut LP — Lush Life. That album title has aspiration, sure, but also a decent dose of irony. Throughout the record, Everett weaves tales of familiar plights. Lost love and indecision mingle with barnstorming defiance. This is adulthood.
The raucous four-piece create a sea of bobbing heads in a packed room upstairs at the Louis
Bar Everett’s magnetism, guitars are the star of the show here. Packed with reverb, they tick each song along to the raucous chorus. A true non-negotiable.
The drummer only really shifts from the steady rhythm of kick and snare during the encore, Don’t Let Them Tell You. Then he hits some fills. That ‘old song’ has a rousing, psychy opening, like it’s priming you for a power ballad. With slight exasperation, Everett sings ‘I need you to listen’ — a plea that lingers.
Know what else lingers? The mild ringing in your ears.
The Belair Lip Bombs don’t skimp on sound. It’s no wonder this high-energy, anthemic set turns the iconic Louisiana room into a sea of bobbing heads.
Expect to see these four pop up far more in the coming years.
All photos: Samuel Fletcher
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