The smell of sweat was strong inside Brisbane's Black Bear Lodge (6 April).
The sold-out crowd crammed themselves inside, pushing against each other's sweat-drenched bodies to get closer to the stage. Hot air built up from the panting of fans collecting their breath after their feverish moshing."Thank you, Black Bear!" called Girl And Girl frontman Kai James as he towered above the crowd. "It's so f...ing great to be back!" The Brisbane-via-Gold Coast band last headlined at the same venue in mid-2023.
Since their last visit, the four-piece signed to the legendary Seattle record label Sub Pop, gained traction with their indie-pop gem 'All I See', and set fire to stages across Europe and at US festival SXSW.
For their return to Black Bear, Girl And Girl previewed tunes from their debut album, 'Call A Doctor'. Before the record's release in May, the band blazed through an energetic set in Brisbane, pushing past the body's limits and burning the night into fans' memories.
A scrappy, garage-rock rhythm bounced out from the opening set of Love Banana. With reedy keys and percussion added to the mix, the Gold Coast five-piece have a sound reminiscent of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Despite how tightly squeezed they were onstage, the band's two-chord stomps and bending licks came with good vibes, and no chance of a brawl breaking-out between members.
"It's two worlds colliding," Fraser Bell told the crowd. The Brisbane songwriter was referring to the double duties he pulled on the night – leading his band in a support set before switching to bass for Girl And Girl's headlining set.
Rather than conserving energy for the next set, Fraser and his band blasted through theirs from the opening rumble of fuzz. The twin guitars of Fraser and James Bartlett roared from the start, swapping trembling lead lines and choppy rhythms between each other.
The duo staggered around and swung their guitars wildly around, leading to a few near collisions between them, yet expertly dodging oncoming guitar heads.
"Our story begins in the East Wing of the Wesley Hospital," Kai James announced. It's the opening song of Girl And Girl's set, appropriately titled 'Intro' and is the opening song of their upcoming debut album.
The frontman monologued about poor mental health over a slow guitar strum. As the last strum faded, a crack came from the snare drum of Kai's Aunty Lissy, and the band quickly launched into their debut album's title track 'Call A Doctor'.
For the rest of their set, Girl And Girl are overcome by nervous energy. Guitarist Jayden Williams bent over and scratched at his guitar, shaking it until his guitar strap came undone. Meanwhile, Kai stared into the distance with wide eyes, his arms outstretched above his head and flailing as his croon quivered.
The set was filled with songs from their upcoming album. Despite them likely being unfamiliar with the crowd, they packed the same livewire energy and catchy hooks.
During 'Suffocate', fans bounced to Aunty Lissy's skipping beat, making the floor shake. One fan climbed onto their friend's shoulders, clinging for life as the moshing turned their ride into a bucking bull.
After 'Divorce 2', a strange look came over Kai's sweat-drenched face. "Is it alright if I just go and throw up for a minute?" he asked the crowd. "I can feel it swirling in my stomach."
After rushing off the stage, his bandmates had worried expressions as they looked to the side of the stage. Rather than sit in silence, Aunty Lissy laid down a fast beat. Jayden and Fraser joined in, jamming an instrumental with a post-punk groove that is hopefully the foundations of another excellent tune.
After several minutes of jamming and nervous peeks at the side of the stage, Kai made his triumphant return, grabbing his guitar and swapping twanging lead lines with Jayden on the jam. "I did it!" Kai cried out to cheers. "Does anybody want to get dinner afterwards? I'm suddenly hungry."
The cheers from the crowd indicated they had an appetite for more Girl And Girl, and craving for a second helping soon.
