Mercy Arms

It is no exaggeration to say that the best Australian music at the moment is being produced in the great city of Sydney. Thursday night’s festivities at The Gaelic Theatre in Surry Hills confirmed this theory. The night was headlined by local favourite band and beacon of hope for all young, upcoming garage bands – Mercy Arms, fresh from their trip around Europe in support of no-need-for-an-introduction, Cut Copy.

Being fashionably late, I missed the first supporting band, Orphans, but they seemed to have warmed up the crowd quite well for the next band on the bill – Circle Pit. This five-piece has an incredible frontman who draws attention to himself seemingly without any effort. The fur scarf draped around his microphone stand and his long bleached blond hair are just the start. This tiny creature is infinitely interesting even as he just stands singing with a tambourine and a bottle of beer. Not to be outdone though, the rest of the band each brings something a little special, particularly the contrasting female vocals of the guitarist/singer. Circle Pit appear to be a little world unto themselves. On stage, they create a messy, noisy atmosphere which the crowd loves, but they seem almost unaware of their audience – not in an arrogant way; they just seem so involved in their music. It’s interesting to witness them play. I would have loved to experience a longer set but they were rudely cut off a song early, much to the dismay of the audience.

Up next, Melbourne band The Process brought something a bit strange and a bit different. The crowd was at first a little frightened and a little bemused, but was very quickly drawn into the insane and very impressive world of The Process. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this excited about a band. Not knowing what to make of them at first, as the singer moved around the stage with Iggy Pop dance moves, sounding like Nick Cave with the music of The Cramps, I soon realised what I was witnessing was just incredible. I spent the entire set smiling like a mad woman and looking around at everyone with a “what is this and how amazing is it?” expression. Apart from the few guys yelling “fuck yeeeeeaaaah” the entire time, the Sydney crowd didn’t seem quite ready for The Process but we were converted real soon. Once the singer was in the crowd, busting out fantastic dance moves, we were definitely sold. Whilst the Sydney music scene is really fucking incredible, it can sometimes feel a little small – just on this night, members of local band Atrocities were playing with Circle Pit, and watching from the crowd; members from Mercy Arms are also in the band The Nevada Strange, et cetera. It’s a pretty tight-knit sort of scene, so when a band we don’t know that well comes on stage and tears our shit up, we are impressed. The Process received a great reception from their audience.

But despite this, nothing could outdo the band everyone was there to see. The story of Mercy Arms is the sort that gives hope to struggling bands everywhere. Yes, you can start out small and build a great little group of supporters, then work your way up to record an impressive EP, play with the likes of The Horrors, The Strokes and Pixies (!!!!!!), tour all over the place, release a wonderful debut album (and have your own Wikipedia page!). And still, they seem so laid back and comfortable with what they’re doing. I wonder if they realise just how special a band they are. As soon as they started playing, a lovely atmosphere was created that said “you’re about to experience something special, so brace yourselves”. Whilst they have a really solid sound and seem to know how to cater to the audience, there’s still something a little raw about Mercy Arms that keeps us on our toes in anticipation, like the long introduction to the older song ‘Kilby’. Kirin J Callinan’s screeching guitar works so well with the smooth, dreamy vocals of frontman Thom Moore, especially on the track ‘Caroline’. The audience already know the songs and they’ve got their favourites, as evidenced by their excited cheering and shouting, and the pushing towards the front of the stage. It’s rare to see that sort of excitement for bands that haven’t yet reached sell-out proportions. The serious, bittersweet nature of the lyrics is contrasted with the antics of guitarist Kirin – his outfit, his dance moves; the banter of bassist Ash Moss, and the sly looks of Thom towards the audience. Having returned to home shores, it almost felt as though they were playing to a group of friends they’d missed whilst on their travels. It felt like one of those small, intimate gigs despite the packed out venue.

The tickets were $15 but there was a Friends and Family guest list which gave a $10 discount. When they came on stage, Thom said “let’s make it worth five bucks”. It was certainly worth a lot more than that! A brilliant night of very, very good music that showed that Mercy Arms are something really special.

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