The Walkmen and Archie Bronson Outfit

As we walked into the theatre-like space of The Factory, we were greeted by Perth four-piece Snowman. In spite of the strained mix, they offered a decent blend of prog-punk, a stomping drum sound with layers of distorted icing. The wailing, jazz-influenced ‘Smoke & Mirrors’, complete with the tipsy trumpet skills of Joe McKee, certainly got the night off to a good start. It was followed by the anthemic, swooping guitars of ‘You are a Casino’ which warranted more than the mere handful of punters that had turned up to witness it. Of particular note was the violin-wielding, hip-thrusting bombast of frontman Andy Citawarman. I’ll never look at this instrument the same way again.

The first of tonight’s double-headliner bill were Englishmen The Archie Bronson Outfit. And, right on queue, the crowd streamed in from nowhere. Soon, the stage was crowded with indie kids. (Where had they been hiding? The toilets? Out having a smoke? It appeared classic indie snobbism had been in play.) The band, despite looking like a trio of bearded, reclusive woodsmen, turned out to be more delightfully messy pub-rock than bluesy tramp. With quirky lyrics (‘Dead Funny’ is a gem), a solid guitar sound, and a stripped-down kit, they produced some great, unmistakeably British rock. In particular, single ‘Dart for My Sweetheart’, in all its shambolic glory, went down well. It’s the kind of music you could dance like a dork to, and it would seem like the right thing to do.

The Walkmen entered the stage, trailing their high-end jangly guitars after them like a string of sleigh bells. Their lead singer, Hamilton Leithauser’s raspy yowl is in stark contrast to their guitar sound; and I have to admit, took some getting used to. He often sounds like he’s yelling down a tunnel after having chained-smoked a packet of Marlboro Reds. The fact that the bass/treble mix wasn’t properly balanced made the experience all the more awkward. Although, once your ears adjusted to this sound, you learnt to embrace the glorious, elegantly wasted quality to this quintet’s sound. These guys, like all the acts that performed tonight, are a good-time, good-night kind of band. Curiously, stand-out came during the encore, with the track ‘Lost in Boston’. Ending as they did on a high-note, the guys exited the stage to a satisfied crowd.

Let’s just not mention The O.C., yeah? Damn.

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