Feeling a tad weary after too few hours of sleep and far too many hours at work, I headed back into The Valley for night two of BIGSOUND.
Despite my tiredness, it didn't take long to get my groove back, for there is nothing more rejuvenating than the power of live music – BIGSOUND round two, here I come.
There was no easing into it this time, kicking off the evening (3 September) at Wonderland Upstairs with Eora/ Sydney's Closure. Fast, heavy and angsty, plus their vocalist, Lucy May, can really sing and scream.
Closure's music could easily be labelled as metalcore, but after hearing a few songs it's obvious they have a little more under the hood, boasting both a pop sensibility and a bit of punk integrity. Imagine if The Veronicas released a whole album that sounded like 'Forever' with My Chemical Romance as their backing band, that's pretty much what Closure sound like.
Closure - image © KealiJoan Studios
A few minutes behind schedule, but with a huge crowd at the ready, sleepazoid brought their punk-rock energy to the stage at Crowbar and proceeded to take no prisoners. A five piece containing no less than three guitarists, sleepazoid are a group of incredibly accomplished musicians.
Vocalist Nette France has an impressive range that implies a larger musical influence beyond just punk, whilst guitarist George Inglis completely shreds, ripping his way through a few epic, finger-tapping solos before the first song had even finished. Brash, loud and fun, sleepazoid's sound provided the perfect second course to what promises to be a very loud evening indeed.
Surprisingly, Last Quokka are the first band I've seen at BIGSOUND to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians at the start of their set. Not so surprising is the fact that they had almost completely packed out The Brightside.
Their set list drew heavily from their most recent album, 'Take The Fight To The Bastards', including recent favourites like 'Cost Of Living' and 'Save Our Pubs', plus a few old favourites like 'Eat The Rich'.
Last Quokka - image © Bill Prendergast
Last Quokka make good time rock & roll that is equally informed by pub and punk rock, with a strong social conscience and liberal lashings of humour. Vocalist Trent Rojahn can barely keep himself onstage – at one point he was singing from halfway up the stairs – but he knows how to inspire a crowd, winning them over with his larrikin charm and irrepressible energy.
The Alligator Club is hidden down an inconspicuous laneway off of Warner Street, a sign out the front (possibly a joke) declares it has been around since 1972. It's narrow, cramped and long – to be honest it's an awkward live music venue to say the least – especially when it's crammed full punters eager to catch an earful of LUMENS.
LUMENS - image © KealiJoan Studios
As a style, nu-metal is due a rebirth and perhaps LUMENS are the ones to make it happen, with their crunchy guitars and a striking similarity to Disturbed. They aren't breaking any new ground, but deep within The Alligator Club they found a receptive crowd who were keen to mosh and scream like it's still 1999.
Gothic hyper-pop is the only way to describe nightlight, who take the stage almost immediately after Last Quokka. Gone are the t-shirts and jeans of the previous act, replaced by PVC, platform boots and plenty of eyeliner.
nightlight have an interesting look, like a trio of abandoned Cabbage Patch Kids raised inside an old Hot Topic store. The group is comprised of vocalist Laura Lazzara, drummer Jordan Higgins and key-tarist Hayley Austin, who plays a key-tar shaped like a kitchen knife. They are uniquely strange, oddly hypnotic and bizarrely entertaining.
A short hop across the road and back down the lane to The Alligator Club, which hasn't gotten any less cramped. Purée, a Kaurna-/ Adelaide-based band, are already onstage and tearing through a set of breezy indie rock that could provide a fitting soundtrack to a teenage road movie.
Purée are catchy, like The Ataris are catchy, easy music to bop along and enjoy a drink to. Unlike LUMENS – whose heaviness rendered them an odd choice for The Alligator Club – Purée fit perfectly and would make a great house band.
The land of the Long White Cloud (Aotearoa/ New Zealand) is well represented at this year's BIGSOUND; between Ringlets, There's A Tuesday and now Coast Arcade, it just goes to show how much great music is being made by our cousins across the ditch.
Fronted by Bella Bavin, Coast Arcade play classic power-pop, in the vein of Superchunk and The Breeders, with just a hint of shoegaze. Having just announced their debut album, Coast Arcade are riding high on the success of their first international shows at BIGSOUND 2025; and having fun playing a lively mix of old and unreleased tracks. Watch this space – this is a band that is destined for bigger and better things.
effe - image © KealiJoan Studios
Hailing from Naarm/ Melbourne, effe unleash a gloomy, alt-pop fog across the upper floor of Birdees. Frontwoman Effe's breathy vocals sit at the forefront of the group's sound, which is a mix of loops, drums and distorted guitars.
effe occupy a space that is too unusual for pop and too pop to be avant-garde; this isn't a criticism and merely an observation. It's important to have artists who bridge genres and provide a jumping off point for listeners who may wish to (eventually) explore more challenging sonic landscapes.
After a night spent chasing rock & roll through the back streets of The Valley, Mincy's fast-paced electronica provided a welcome change, without losing any of the vibe.
Fast paced, furious and full of bass, Mincy had the upstairs crowd at Enigma raving like there was no tomorrow. No downs, only ups. If you can't dance to Mincy you just might be dead.
Very few bands are channelling Bruce Springsteen these days, not in Australia anyway – or at least that I'm aware of. Maybe it's just the sax, but tonight, at Crowbar, Eliza & The Delusionals, rocked like The Boss, in his softer moments at least – 'Lucky Town' as opposed to 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town'.
Another band with an ability to draw a massive crowd, though this is hardly surprising as Eliza Klatt and her accompanying Delusionals have been a buzz band for a while now and frankly, one can see why.
Their appeal is easy to understand. They rock, but not in way that challenges or asks for much. It's fun music that resonates with a crowd and gives them half an hour of entertainment and escapism, something we all need every now and again, especially with the world being in the state that it is.
Eliza & The Delusionals - image © Bill Prendergast
There's an awful lot that could be written about Spike F...: their breakthrough with 'The Smackwave EP' about a decade ago, addiction, recovery and a brief comeback, then relapse and recovery (again) followed by radio silence and rumours of Tasmanian solitude and obscure religious cults.
This time, however, Spike is back for good, clean, healthy and with a full band to boot. Tonight's set at Black Bear Lodge featured several classic cuts from 'The Smackwave EP', most notably 'Junkie Logic' and 'Guts', alongside newer singles 'Eternity & Time' and 'Other Right Hand Of The Lord', plus a couple of unreleased that seem to indicate a new album may not be far off – welcome news indeed considering that, for a while at least, it seemed doubtful that we'd ever hear from Spike again.
The last band of the night, Byron Bay's HEADSEND occupy Ric's Backyard, filling it with an epically enjoyable mix of grunge, punk and classic rock. HEADSEND set a brisk pace for the majority of their set, but toward the end they slow it down a bit and unleash an unexpectedly moody highlight that is reminiscent of 'Frogstomp' era Silverchair.
For their final song, however, HEADSEND choose to end their set with a bang, picking up the pace and sending the crowd off with one final, frantic blast of rambunctious, distorted noise.
If night two of BIGSOUND had a theme, it would be: 'For Those About To Rock, We Salute You.' Where night one proved to be a mix of diverse styles and genres, the second act was (predominately) all about the noise. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Only time will tell, so stay tuned.
More photos from night two.
