The bellowing Jack Ladder seems to be one of those guys quietly working hard to sound more mature every time I see him live. His swagger on stage is really refined, and you’d be mistaken if you had transported yourself to the early new wave scenes of the 1970’s and 80’s. Jack’s guitarist – Kirin J Callinan – looked quite possessed, seeming to be transfixed on squalling and squealing guitar sounds. It felt all over the place, though at the same time it felt together in its own way. Jack has an amazing tendency to present his songs in a way that tricks us into believing this was ramshackle, where in reality they are purposeful and well considered.
When Warpaint began, the audience would have been slow to realise the set had started. The band vamped along behind drawn curtains before revealing themselves properly with their self titled stellar track ‘Warpaint’. Swirling melodies from the two guitarists were drawn through movements by the pulsating bass hooks of the oh-so-cool Jenny Lee Lindberg. The band capitalised on their feminine presence with undulating and overlapping harmonies. The songs are so well played that melodies spin around in a haze in amongst the more rhythmic aspect of their performance.
I honestly think this was due to Stella Mozgawa, who looked keen to take things into the progression of a rhythmic beat driven set. She brought a genuineness and vigour in her drumming that kept the audience alert. One song in particular, ‘Composure’, with its sudden change in tempo yelp to dark groove, gots Lindberg swaying like an upright hammock.
It was the enticing ‘Billie Holiday’ that turned the night into some sort of frenzied awesomeness, but it was the very structured ‘Undertow’ that got me hooked so much so that it was an earworm for me for days after. A beautiful solo rendition of ‘Baby’ put the proverbial icing on the sweet dessert. I, for one, had slowly fallen in love with this band over the last few months. This gig confirmed that love even more.
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