It was a wet and windy Friday 13th that saw me arrive at Rosemount Hotel in preparation for the launch of College Fall's new album The Curse of Us, though this wasn't a simple album launch, this was a homecoming for a band that began life in Perth. One thing that became clear as the night progressed is that there seems to be a shortage of quality bass players in Perth, or at least few that match the skill of Matt Geary, who was drafted into three of the four bands playing. Unfortunately, it seemed that the bad weather had put a great deal of prospective punters off. 

So when first band American Novelist took to the stage there was only a modest crowd in attendance. This didn't stop the band from putting on an enthusiastic set, interacting with the audience from the start and were quick to explain their name pointing out that none of them were American but they did read books. The band displayed some great alt country tendencies, and really benefited from some beautiful vocal work from singer Mieke Harman, though they could have done with bringing her vocals up in the mix a little. The sound seemed to shift between a mix of alt country and classic rock; but it was really their slower more ballad like songs were the band shone. But on a whole a good solid opening set. 

Up next was local trio, The Chris Gibbs Band, from the outset it was clear which one of the band was Chris Gibbs. It was also clear they had a propensity for the theatrics with Gibbs thrashing his guitar and leaping across the stage. Whilst this was entertaining and fun to watch, it did eventually begin to wear a bit thin. Vocally Gibbs sounds a little like the bastard son of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty by way of pop punk America, which worked really well with his brand of rock which seemed to draw from the rock music of the 70s and 80s. It was also pretty clear that Gibbs was an accomplished guitarist, with some stellar guitar work throughout; which gave many of his songs an added kick; unfortunately this did lead to the other members of the band taking a somewhat backing role; it would have been nice to hear a bit more from them. Overall it was a fun set with some great classic rock moments. 

Third on were The Ghost Hotel, who are to put it simply, a band who are potentially on the cusp of big things. They certainly have both the songs and the performance chops to break it out the Perth scene and go national; and I for one certainly hope they do. There sound was at times both familiar and fresh with echoes of Dylan and Powderfinger, which seems like and odd mix, but then each song and each new vocalist brings a whole new vibe to the proceedings. Indeed it is refreshing to see a band where their are three vocalists (with the rest offering backing vocals), each as good as the last, all with different approaches and styles, in fact I am finding it incredibly hard to pick a favourite of the three. Its also nice to see a band that whilst having 4 guitarists on stage doesn't just rely on sonically bombarding the audience into submission. Instead the audience are tempted in by some great guitar work, splendid vocals and some incredibly well written songs. I urge each and every one of you to go out and buy their EP it's definitely worth it.   

The final band to take the stage, were returning troubadours' College Fall coming back to their home town to help release their latest album. By this point the crowd had increased slightly and the "semi circle of death" had formed. College Fall have a slightly American-esque sound, at times somewhat strangely reminding me of The Hold Steady. The set was made up of a mixture of the old and as you would expect tracks from the new album they were there to promote. Vocally both Jodie Bartlett and Glenn Musto were spot on, with Jodie perhaps edging into the lead, with some stellar moments. It was also nice to see the introduction of a keyboard to the mix, a nice break from the largely guitar driven efforts of the other bands. The bands exuberance and relentless good cheer made for a great atmosphere that was only dulled slightly by a few boisterous and rude folk late on. Importantly the new songs seemed to go down well, as did the old, including a harkening back to Musto's pre College Fall days in the band Showbag. Give the band a chance, go buy their new album, go see them live, you won't regret it.