polaroids of androids

Further + Sounds Like Sunset + Talons @ Hopetoun Hotel - 01/03/2008

There are several reasons why this show fucking rocked and brought a smile to my face every time I thought about it for the next few days.

This was a PROPER album launch. Further played all of the tracks from their rideeeekolously good new album - in order. For people like me who have listened to the album around 1400 times over the past few weeks this was perfect. After playing the closing number, Karkana Kamuna Kaay, the band returned to the stage to play around five more older songs for the die hard front row fans (ie. Ben and Christian from Talons).

The venue was about 90% full with about 98% of those people there to enjoy the band - not just fuckers on the way home from a drunken night out with the urge to see a 'pub band' perform. Thank you Mardi Gras for trapping all those folks within the city limits.

Talons opened, dedicated a song to the DJ 'crew' that I am part of and seemed truly humbled by the fact they were supporting 'the band which made them want to form a band'. They also rocked. Fucking pythons down the pants kind of furious rocking. About 11% finer than their set the night before in support of the Batriding kids.

Sounds Like Sunset, although not my kettle of deep fried fish and/or chips, did what they do really well. They also had a Dad playing guitar, which only adds to their slacker we-don't-give-a-shit attitude that seems to nicely compliment their musical style.

Further have been doing their thing for some time now (it was their 10th anniversary as well) BUT we believe their new material encapsulates everything that is so great about them into nice, easily consumable packages of fantastically well executed rock music. The continually changing landscape of sound was delivered with the kind of enthusiasm normally reserved for bands hungry to cement their reputation as an entertaining outfit.

Their performance on Saturday evening was the perfect example of why they were never really going to grow into 'the next big thing' t-shirt that the world seemed focused on fitting them into. Their sound and the way in which they deliver it is just too unconfined and believable for that role.

Further NEED to become a regular fixture on the Sydney live music scene again. And the sooner the better.