Underground Lovers' third album, 1994's 'Dream It Down', holds a special place in the hearts of most Undies fans, with its ambition and melding of styles signalling a real shift forward for the Melbourne band when it was released 30 years ago.
Drawing inspiration from the great music of the time – from My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' to Primal Scream's 'Screamadelica' – the band managed to also blend this exciting time in experimental rock with their own distinctive sound.'Dream It Down' still sounds as good in 2024 as it did in the 1990s, testament to its timelessness and worthy title of the seminal set of their career. As such, they had no trouble packing The Corner (27 July) for this celebration of the record – and its new release on deluxe vinyl – with the original line-up together again for this hometown gig.
However, the room was already packed nearly two hours before they hit the stage, thanks to the extra treat they had in store on the bill in Youth Group.
With shows few and far between these days, the Sydney-ish-based quartet reunited – including drummer Danny Allen flying out from his home in Miami, Florida – and took to the stage for their first Melbourne show since late-2019 (a show this reviewer missed because of breaking an ankle in three places just weeks before).
It was a short and sweet set, as they tightly tore through some of their favourites – the stunning, anthemic 'Skeleton Jar', along with 'Erskineville Nights' and the upbeat 'Cusp'.
It was also the first airing of their new song 'Sibera' since its release just a few days earlier, signalling a bit of a shift in the band's sound to embrace more electronic elements. It's an impressive slow-burner that should have fans excited about what's to come with their next album.
The crowd was abuzz with anticipation for the main event, however, and when the Undies took to the stage – in original line-up format of Richard Andrew, Philippa Nihill, Maurice Argiro, Glenn Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso – it was clear we were in for a special show.
Fittingly, the band stayed faithful to the tracklist for the first three songs – the well dreamy 'Dream It Down', the poppy 'Losin' It' and the delicate beauty of the Nihill-voiced 'Recognise' – before deviating from the script in order to best present the album live.
Which is why it was a bit of shock when the evocative melody of the opening bars of 'Beautiful World' sounded out across the room next. This beautiful, mournful ballad remains one of their finest moments, and it hasn't sounded as good, or as rich, onstage in decades, thanks no doubt to the bolstered line-up tonight.
Some of the album's other standouts followed, first the gorgeous 'Superstar', before the crash of the melodramatic swagger of 'Las Vegas', which garnered the best sing-along from the audience of the night.
That song marked the end of the 'Dream It Down'-centred part of the set, with the band indulging in songs from across their career, including the groove-laden electronica of 'Your Eyes' and 'Promenade', from 1992's 'Leaves Me Blind', the Undies' acclaimed second record.
A four-song encore followed, with 'Dream It Down' B-side 'Mumblehead Again', which you'll find on the new vinyl release, 'Corn' from their 1991 EP, 'Every Sign' from 2017's 'Staring At You, Staring At Me' and 'Au Pair', from the band’s seventh record, 'Weekend', the first album of original music following their 12-year hiatus.
Sure, we didn't get all of 'Dream It Down', and there were dozens of other tracks that could have been slotted into this set, yet it might go down as an all-time great Underground Lovers performance.
The sound was impeccable throughout the venue, the hypnotic visuals quickly transporting punters into the magical, otherworldly space the Undies inhabit, and Nihill and Giarrusso sharing vocal duties was and always will be a treat.
It was also a reminder of why, even 30 years after 'Dream It Down', so many fans continue to hold this band up as one of the country's all-time greats.
