ALTERED NOISE PRESENTS:
SUPERB LYREBIRD
DEAD LETTER CIRCUS
PAPER CHAMPION
ANNANDALE HOTEL
19TH APRIL 2007
8PM - $10
http://www.alterednoise.com
http://www.myspace.com/superblyrebird
The Brag - Review - Bar Broadway (Ep Launch)
SUPERB LYREBIRD
THE CAPTAIN'S PACKAGE
Bar Broadway
Friday March 9
I've had this theory that I think would work for any up-and-coming band: make sure every gig you play is launching something, and you'll have them lining up down the street. For some reason, every time you put "launch" on your flyer, people suddenly flock to your show.
Luckily for Superb Lyrebird, they didn't have to throw a phony launch: this was the centerpiece show to welcome the arrival of their debut EP Anoised. And the people flocked, they did. But before the four-piece took the stage, the audience was treated to a few acts. Sui Zhen is solo acoustic mode and Gangawry warmed up the stage, and the crowd, before eccentric The Captain's Package performed a set full of new tunes off their forthcoming release. A melting pot of Faith No More and Mr Bungle-esque sounds with a B-52s mentality, their music isn't easily contained within whimsical musical adjectives. Staccato keys which stab at the off-beat accompany minor-key guitar noodling, solid bass liens and inventive drum patterns. Their on-stage presence is a little lacking (the keys player looked as though she was dreaming of another land) but their music is a side-step away from what most bands are composing around Sydney.
Superb Lyrebird appeal to most of the aspects of music that I like – thoughtful structures, non-common time signatures and melody offset by driving rhythms. An expectant crowd gathered to see something special for the band's EP launch, and the band didn't disappoint. Their style is predominately steeped in modern-day progressive rock, infusing dark, dissonant chords a la Isis with full-blown riffs akin to bands such as Nucleus or Cog. What sets Superb apart is the use of electronic samples and synthesizer sounds which adds a bed of dark ambience to their melodic sections. Engaging and interesting, Superb Lyrebird plucked all the right strings on the Bar Broadway stage. And in the process, they probably sold some EPs too.
Dom Alessio
