Spooky; Beaverloop; Tragic
The Loft
22nd July, 1995

In an age where you have to squeal like Nina Hagen to be heard over the deluge of pop music releases, bands are finding it tough setting themselves apart from the norm. This is not a comment about the band Spooky, who brought us all together for their On The Quiet EP launch on Saturday night, but their friends Tragic who opened the evening to much grinding of teeth.

With a voice plucked straight from that television advertisement set in Tennessee starring Billy Dern, Tragic Jr (yes, it gets worse) sat upon his high stool while his audience member band-mates literally read lyrics into the microphone. The Tragic ensemble continued to surreptitiously sell American products to the audience, who hoped for bludgeoning weapons, until solace arrived in the form of CD debutants Spooky.

Opening solidly with the first track off their EP, the highly lauded and pacey When You Cry, Spooky immediately showed that they have the stuff which has seen Lamia and Spank succeed in Perth's little bubble. Vocalist Rosie Rooney had no problems hitting the high notes, best illustrated on another of the EP's tracks Stuck With You which could have failed if not for Rooney's powerful live voice. Sometimes it is hard to bring that studio quality to the stage, but not in this instance.

Another vital element of the Spooky experience involved drummer Andrew Daly's fast and machine-tight work at the back. With every possible space filled with a speedy tour of the kit, solidly held in esteem by their twin guitar platform, there is no doubt this band is the sum of its parts. If you regularly see Perth bands you will hardly need to hunt for Spooky - with On The Quiet their name will grow from here on in.

And like a train hitting a pigeon, Beaverloop continued their 'Barrage Tour 95' with their usual, if not pretty spectacular, string-snapping antics. With Loon X-Wing only firing on seven cylinders due to his theatre commitments, Beaverloop were only, well, brilliant this night. For example, Green Spinny Thing was only played at twice the pace and when the E-string snapped on Loon's bass he didn't succeed in breaking any on the bass he borrowed from Spooky's Rosie. You will always know what to buy Loon for Xmas.

Adam Connors

The West Australian is W.A.'s state newspaper. The versions appearing here are the unedited versions which were subsequently edited for space, clarity and reality for publication by editors Sue Yeap and Ara Jansen. Italicised comments in the body of the reviews/interviews - if present - are the notes I sent to the editors to clarify certain situations such as missed deadlines, personal disasters or simple non sequitur, which always makes for good reading.

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