Fresh from a performance at the legendary Annandale, The Kill Devil Hills pulled into Bulli’s Heritage Hotel on the road for their Another Joke, Another Ransom tour. As seasoned live performers, the W.A. collective gave a strong case as to why they are one of the country’s best kept musical secrets (not that they’d ever be so kind to themselves to say so), presenting the crowd with an intimate, passionate performance of their countrified blues-rock that they have honed over the years.

Up first were Sydney band The Holy Soul, who had been fairly low-key for a couple of years up until recently, with last year’s release of new LP Damn You, Ra. Their jangly rock-n-roll sound powered out with a mix of slinking rhythms, dirty slide-guitar licks and husky baritone that was undoubtedly impressive, yet didn’t particularly invigorate the seated audience – a shame, given the quality of what was on hand. The biggest cheers of their set came after their performance of early single Love Has Left The City Limits. The songs remains the finest work of the Holy Soul body of work: slow-burning, sinister and a real thrill to experience even after all these years. A good performance, but much better suited to standing rock venues – the guys will be playing with The Maladies at the Oxford Art Factory soon, so check that out.

Following this were former Western Australians the Tucker B’s. It’s been quite some time since this lot were doing the touring rounds with bands like Wolfmother and getting rotation on Triple J, but what a relief it is to know that they’re still together and touring. No matter what environment you find them in, the B’s are a must-see live – their energy and enthusiasm for what they do is simply infectious. The sound is very quick to cut sharply through its progressions, ranging from abrasive, thunderous noise to light-footed, clean tones in a matter of seconds. The vocals work in much of a similar fashion. Their set-up sees guitarist Matt Rudas singing harmoniously up to his boiling point, at which stage bassist Andrew Houston takes the tracks into its extremities with his piercing screams and primal roars. The whole band works to one another’s strengths, making for a memorable set in the live setting. Good to have you back, B’s.

At long last, the Kill Devil Hills slunk onto stage one by one. The quintet played a set that worked effortlessly through soaring highs and swampy lows, engaging the audience with dark tales from the other side of the country. The set ranged from tracks from their latest album, Man, You Should Explode, right back to their very first album Heathen Songs (“Gunslinger” and “Drinking Too Much” were particular highlights that were lifted from this era). The five musicians were all in fine form, but it would be hard to ignore Aex Archer as the band’s secret weapon. Depending on what instrument he is playing, it shifts the musical dimension entirely. The songs with his violin were sinister, brooding tracks in the vein of The Drones or the Dirty Three; whilst the songs in which he provides a third guitar played out more as dirty alt-country with significant dosage of rock & roll. Whichever path the band took, it was always received with loud, respectful applause.

Despite a slightly overlong set with a few songs lagging due to over-familiarity, it was hard to fault the Hills’ performance. All three bands might not get enough of the recognition they deserve, but you can rest assured that performing to a well-satisfied audience is gratification enough for these three great Australian bands.