Words by James Lavel
On Friday night, Better Lovers made their Australian debut at Crowbar, Brisbane. The bands 2024’s debut album, ‘Highly Irresponsible’, was easily my album of the year that year, so I was excited to see the guys bring their explosive energy down under. Joining them for their trek around Australia are Blind Girls and the English rock quintet Split Chain, who have themselves been blowing up over the past few years.
I am ashamed to say this was my first visit to the Crowbar since we lost The Zoo. I think I have been grieving the loss, but this was a gig I simply could not miss. I am sure glad I didn’t.
Crowbar Brisbane have outdone themselves — preserving all the things that made The Zoo special while giving the stage a much-needed upgrade and bringing back the kitchen!
Opening the festivities was Gold Coast’s 5-piece punk/hardcore outfit Glitter Strip. I hadn’t heard much about these guys, but Glitter Strip left a hell of an impression in their short energetic set. With no words spoken the band came out swinging with a tight explosive performance, a healthy amount of chugs and blast beats set the mood for the night to follow. By their third track heads were banging and the pit started to personify the malice creature that would eventually consume the venue. Filthy leads and slick drums kept arms flailing throughout the set. Their job done they walked straight off stage letting the room breathe again.
Gold Coast’s self-described screamo band Blind Girls were next to take the stage. They certainly lived up to the scream with vocalist Sharni Brouwer screeching her way through a twisted soundscape of heavy grooves and distorted tones. The room filled rapidly as energy oozed from the stage. Slick breakdowns and nuances throughout their set kept things interesting. Their energy pushed the seams of the room. Disjointed structures intentional and jarring, blast beats, piercing vocals, the entire set was an assault of brutality. It was great to see these guys not only in support in Brisbane but for the whole run with Better Lovers.
I spoke with friends and fellow music lovers in the merch line about the bands. It quickly became evident that just as many people were here to see Split Chain as Better Lovers. I had spent some time with this band through my headphones and was impressed by their momentum as a group whose life span was only a little over 2 years.
The room packed in as Split Chain took the stage. These guys had clearly spent the time perfecting their stage show with backing tracks and a big production. Bert Martínez-Cowles addressed the room about his excitement to be in Australia for the first time as eager punters were equally keen to welcome them. The tight rhythm of bassist Tom Davies and drummer Aaron Black built a solid foundation for Oli Bowles and Jake Reid to build upon, weaving soundscapes and walls of guitar. These guys were a nice addition to this bill. Heavy but full of a shoegaze vibe. Seductive, loud and penetrative, If Basement and Deftones had a baby, it would be this band.
At long last mash up of song segments all containing the word love begins to play. The room was palpable and erupted as Greg Puciato, Jordan Buckley, Steve Micciche, Clayton Holyoak and Will Putney took the stage. They propelled straight into A White Horse Covered In Blood. In an instant, crowd surfing was in full swing as the room swayed and rumbled. The energy these guys have is remarkable I’ve never seen more aggressive head banging than from Jordan, Will and Stephen; my neck hurts watching them. The manic riff of Drowning In A Burning World hit like whiplash driving the room crazy. Superman Died Paralysed next with Clayton Holyoak beating the absolute shit out of the tubs. Greg Puciato soaks the front row with a thick swagger and vocal onslaught. A thick bass line from Stephen leads us into Two Alive Amongst The Dead. Eager punters skip the stage before launching themselves into the heaving sea of sweaty bodies.
Crowbar Brisbane (although no long under The Zoo flag) has preserved the intimate feeling it has always had. No barriers, no bald head security guards staring you down, just real, gritty powerful intimate shows. I could not have hoped to have seen this band at a better venue. They played Don’t Forget To Say Please and Future Myopia keeping things sweaty and not dropping a single bit of energy from their stage show.
Jordan Buckley is an absolute beast on stage, he and Will were locked in all night effortlessly ripping mind melting riffs while moving around in a tornado of insanity. I got lost in the pit during Sacrificial Participant and The Impossible End. The front row for The Flowering and God Made Me An Animal was the only way to experience this band. The energy was incredible. They took things down, (just a little) with At All Times, one of my favourite tracks from ‘Highly Irresponsible’. The crowd sung along with Greg word for word. I got a little carried away on the next song stage diving and crowd surfing (couldn’t help myself) … but made it back for Lie Between The Lies.
I watched Greg eye off the rafters all night and somewhere around the time the room lost its collective shit with 30 under 13, he was upside on the roof over the pit. He gracefully dismounted into a crowd surf back to the stage. Jordan screamed for circle pits on his fold back podium.
Better Lovers at Crowbar Brisbane was all time… nuf said.
GO SEE THIS BAND, I cannot stress that enough. Brisbane was just the beginning; Better Lovers are making away around the country over the next week, so do yourself a favour and grab a ticket to the best live show out.
Destroy All Lines Presents
BETTER LOVERS
AUSTRALIAN DEBUT HEADLINE TOUR
WITH SPLIT CHAIN + BLIND GIRLS
Tickets from destroyalllines.com
FRIDAY 23 JANUARY – CROWBAR, BRISBANE
WITH GLITTER STRIP
SATURDAY 24 JANUARY – HAMILTON STATION HOTEL, NEWCASTLE
WITH TIRED MINDS
SUNDAY 25 JANUARY – MANNING BAR, SYDNEY
WITH TOTALLY UNICORN
WEDNESDAY 28 JANUARY – MAX WATTS, MELBOURNE
WITH GRAVITATE
THURSDAY 29 JANUARY – SOOKI LOUNGE, BELGRAVE
WITH RUN
FRIDAY 30 JANUARY – LION ARTS FACTORY, ADELAIDE
WITH HAMMER 618
With thanks to Dallas Does PR
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