Cruising in from the suburbs, the comfortable Friday crowd at Planet was stacked with the fans and family of CD debutants Spill, the drinking buddies of the Prawns and one guy from up North who was ably debiting his minesite paycheck.
For us poncy city folk, to wake up screaming during a dreamt, extended bogan-rock lead guitar break is a very real danger. Thankfully, this was averted by the headlining act’s mature set and a real show of potential songsmithery. But firstly …
Fresh out of the Holden Belmont from one of their many down-South sojourns, surf rockers Prawns With Horns were a throwback to when music was ‘boys own’ and not afraid to tackle the greater social injustices of our time – like legalising marijuana and running out of beer. Their shirt off, guitar solo delivery and between song banter had the party ‘soundz’ flourishing to the point where their show was slicker than a scripted commercial radio gag.
The introductory warning of lewdness before breaking into their song God Is A Girl highlighted the sensitive side of the Prawns, while set closer Born A Prawn demonstrated why you shouldn’t eat the head of a crustacean. Party boys.
Soon after, cradling newborn CDs, Spill launched into album opener Feelings, a mid-paced song with a mind to play on a very catchy chorus which in hindsight could have been well at home in weekend tourists Powderfinger’s set. Similarly, vocalist/guitarist Michael Hanna and guitar offsider Matthew Hanna strike a little of the stage presence of ex-locals Verona – touchstones which mean a great use of rhythm and power.
But because of Spill’s wildly alternating structures – from inventive riffs and fantastic drumming by Anthony Hanna, to the next song’s slide into mediocre suburban rock – it soon became obvious that there were two distinct songwriters in the band and one of them needed a slapping. Overall though, you couldn’t ignore the genuinely hit-bound possibilities of much of their material, albeit sometimes bisected by unextraordinary passages.
If Spill get themselves a spot in some more relevant gig line-ups, we may see their more inventive sounds arising and developing alongside people who still actually create exciting new music.
Adam Connors
