Clare Bowditch has seen a sharp rise in fame over that
past few years and with her latest album Modern Day Addiction she has brought a
new wave of fans with her. But will this new influx push out the old fans, or
keep them there in dedication? Dave Roberts heads out to find out.

I will admit, Post-Pop or electro influenced Pop style folk
(whatever you want to call it and depending on who you ask) isn’t my first
preference when it comes to music. In fact, it is probably toward the bottom of
my ‘to listen to list' just because of its ties with one of my least favourite
genres – Pop.  But dear readers,
let me give you a bit of advice – whenever anyone gives you a free ticket to
anything you should head out and check it out for better or worse (and for
those of you who have read and remember my Stereosonic review will remember the
latter).

In the case of the 18th of August, it was a
Myspace Secret show for Australia’s very own Clare Bowditch (pronounced like
the tie, not the front of a ship as I was informed on the night) which was set
in the heart of Sydney’s very own Red Light District – Kings Cross, at a little place I had never heard of called Melt. Upon arrival I was
introduced to a room of yabbering and chatting people, and also to a peculiar wall
filled with old records with everyone from Nat King Cole, to Elton John, and
Frank Sinatra among others. After a short wait and a drink or two we
were whisked away upstairs to the main stage area to wait and warm up for the
main event – Clare Bowditch.

We were only waiting for a few minutes before
Clare and her band took the stage, said hello, and got right into it. And that
is right where my mediocre expectations were squashed. You see when I had
accepted the invite I jumped on Clare’s myspace page (www.myspace.com/clairebowditch)
and after listening to a couple of songs I pondered how her and her band would
go about re-creating this sound live. But alas, Clare and her band were tight,
well rehearsed and managed to stir something within this reviewer – a taste for
her music and her style – a style I had not pondered too heavily upon or
investigated until this ticket came across my desk. With a mix of Shearwater
and Dolly Parton her voice cut across the moodily lit room which
immediately became her oyster as she sang her way through a selection of songs
off her latest album.

The band performed amicably – I’ve never seen a pop bass
player say ‘IM RIGHT HERE’ so loudly as her bassist did, and the backup singers
were doing a great job of moving and singing together. The drummer was solid
and the key player was right on the mark The guitarist was a bit of a worry
though; I’m not too sure if he was tired, nervous, indifferent or if that
was just how he was under normal circumstances. All the songs were performed to
a T, however, there are two songs really worth mentioning – for a different
reason than you think.

The first song that really caught my eye was ‘I Thought You
Were God’ – which was a cut back to her original style as I was informed by the
die hard Bowditch fan beside me. And the second song which caught my ears was
‘Running’ – a fantastic little post-pop tune which was catchy, fun and
definitely had some great audience interaction moments. However, this is where
I started to think something a little awry had been undertaken. You see dear
readers, The contrast between these two songs was enough for me to press pause
on the entire night (if I could) and start to think: what the?

If only on an orchestration level, it is a bit of a shame to
see the Clare Bowditch now almost restrained in her new Post-Pop style. It was
a different thing to see her singing her heart out in ‘I Thought You Were God’
rather than her more subdued and 'electro' singing style which didn’t power out as much in
the rest of the songs. They seemed to be a little more about fun and getting
the audience in – which I’m all for, but it just seems a bit of a shame to lose
her wonderful and beautiful voice at the hand of this. As one fan put it ‘Her
voice seems more plastic now.’ And certainly it seems that it is used as more of
another instrument added to the mix, rather than the focal point of the music.
And while it’s still very much Clare, it’s lost a sort of innocence and
pureness that her original music seemed to have.

But having said that, both styles have their pros and
cons and each bring their unique styles and indeed, their fans to the floor.
There is the crazy blonde haired blue eyed Clare fan, going berko to the
latest dance beats and happy pop style songs, bringing her friends to dance
with, and there is the brunette reserved Bowditch fans, swaying gently to her
softer songs with their lighters held high, in the arms of their loved one. And
then there is me. The newcomer to her music who is surprised and happy to hear
her new and old music without any prejudices. And so far as I
could tell, they all seemed to play nicely together, no altercations and they
all waited for their favourite songs. Including the latest single which made an
appearance in the set list, and was performed perfectly by all members of the
band with pre-thought actions by Clare and the singers to boot.

As I mentioned, Melt is an interesting place. With all
the records on the wall, soft music, indie vibe and intimate atmosphere it was
a perfect venue to be introduced to Clare Bowditch. And I hope that in years
to come there will be another AU reviewer heading to Melt to review another
indie band and mention that a Clare Bowditch album sits on the wall there.
Because what after I heard, she certainly deserves every shred
of recognition she gets and it would seem that the only way for Clare
Bowditch from here, is up.

Consensus – A definite see for anyone into this scene
of music, and a definite good night if you want someone to see or something to
do for the night.