Walking into Brighton up Bar, with my go go boots on, and polaroid in hand I didn’t know what to expect, so when I was faced with retro couches, a snazzy little bar and a whole lotta intimacy I was pretty jazzed, and knew the evening would be an interesting one. With the capacity to hold a crowd of 120 I was equally as shocked that Eleanor Dunlop had only managed to pull in a limited amount of pre-sales, despite her innovative new sound and hefty on–the-door list.
Eleanor Dunlop is a pure, untouched talent, and if you want this confirmed simply sit back and take in her raw, intimate live show.
But regardless of ticket sales we were all there for one thing, the release of her nifty new single Rollin On, and first up was the support, Jenny Broke the Window, a five man band of stylin’ indie-rock creative’s who alone had a hoard of fan girls awaiting their performance. Performing a few of their latest and slightly older tracks including See You in the War and Abracadabra, the guys set a euphonious tone for the night. Front man Sam Lathlean’s spirited vocals and edgy, silver-toned riffs in Rum n Cola got people bopping from every corner of the bar and proved to be one of the most popular and stimulating songs of the night.
Jenny Broke the Window is a ‘must see live’ kind of band, the intensity that enshrouded the stage during their set is one that can’t be heard on their EP. With accomplished musicianship, TWO drummers, and a phenomenal bassist whose general adeptness and technique throughout each song was a high point, all made for an angsty ambience that both myself and a group of their fan girls agreed makes them Australia’s answer to The 1975.
Throughout their set, Eleanor could be seen strolling around the bar in a manner that her friend Patrick described as somewhat “shy and reserved” but once she hit the stage to perform 11 of her new, old, and unheard tracks that quiet persona quickly turned into a mixture of nonchalance and confidence, and an all round ‘no fucks given’ attitude was employed. Playing for the first time together as a band, initial track Anyway truly shone the spotlight on Eleanor’s unrefined vocals, which by the time the music started, had enraptured each person in the room, and continued to do so into the subsequent track Right Side of Town. Her performance of RSOT was raw, and complimented largely by the tight prowess of the accompanying instrumentation.
The indisputable faves were Technicolor and Disguise. I may just be a guitar obsessive who gets off to the sound of expertly crafted riffs but there’s no doubt every soul in that bar got moving to these louder, somewhat grungier tracks. The guitarist’s Rickenbacker 330 had my full consciousness for more than a few moments, and on top of Eleanor’s vocals it was magnetic, alike the e-bow he pulled out for Technicolour. For a couple minutes with the e-bow in full swing, he got just a little bit wild, and a truly seductive sound was sculpted. Disguise was much more peculiar and with Eleanor shaking along with a maraca, it shaped up to be the most comfortable and loose performance she had all night, even chucking in a few whirls of her own.
Final track and the one we were all there to hear, Rollin On, was an avant-garde blaze of powerful dream-pop and with each unintentionally sexy vocal riff and careful lyric Eleanor managed to grab the crowd’s whole hearted attention.
Eleanor Dunlop is a pure, untouched talent, and seeing her live only confirms these statements further. The night was one of intrigue and after witnessing an array of mellifluous performances from both sides of the realm, it is clear that although the crowd was small, and filled mostly with friends and family, everyone had a gas, and these bands deserve and will over time acquire the attention they deserve.
Y’all can catch Eleanor at the Shebeen in Melbourne on the 19th of March.
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