Live Review
Dan Cribb and The
Isolated
The Newport Hotel
Sunday 10 August
The Decline’s own Dan
Cribb has side project, Dan Cribb and The Isolated, and it has been steadily maturing
over the last few months. Equipped with a new drummer, he’s taking the band on
a national tour later this year. Over the weekend they played a run of shows in
Perth, Mandurah and Fremantle. Rrocklobster went to check out the Freo gig.
It was a Sunday
evening and a small crowd in the band room of The Newport Hotel found solace
listening to the comforting guitar riffs of White Oak and Stuyvesant. Their
strong post-rock sound deserves the attention of a larger crowd. Tell your friends.
Buy their records. Go to one of their shows.
Members of The
Disappointed were among the punters enjoying White Oak and Stuyvesant. After
calmly sipping their beers empty, they took to the stage and got stuck right
into their upbeat tunes featuring four-way group vocals lead by Michael Strong. Extra depth in their sound was added by intriguing and sometimes ominous keyboard effects and catchy
rock guitar riffs. Songs from their new Weird Peace EP sounded fresh, and older songs
have evolved a little with new twists and tweaks. Every song is an earworm!
Mezzanine was the
catalyst for a grungier mood. Vocalist Cory John Rist
sang out from behind his fringe, and was backed by plenty of reverb and crunch
from the guitars. A cover of The Pixies, Where Is My Mind, slotted so perfectly
into the set it could have been their own song. A photographer rocked out in
the lighting box while punters’ heads nodded and their toes tapped. Hearing the
strong bassy title track of their album Strange Paradise, the relaxed Sunday
drinkers must have been tempted to get their hands on a copy of the CD. Mezzanine
plays solid, accessible rock and should have more of a following. Get into it,
Perth!
Hosts of the evening, Dan Cribb and The
Isolated, were up next. If you saw them play earlier in the year, you may be surprised
that Cribb has replaced the acoustic guitar with an electric. There were more
vocal contributions from bassist Ray Chiu and guitarist Scott Connor and overall the band now seems to make more sense. The
used-to-be-folky tunes from last year’s The Memories Last EP were given a new
lease on life, and a few skate-punk chord progressions crept into newer songs.
Cribb’s trademark youthful voice was less audible over the extra fuzz, but
overall the band has gained more energy and spunk.
Review by Rrocklobster of Perth.
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