Review: Joshua Hobbins
Photography: Nate Rose

The Brightside Brisbane carpark stage hosted a post-rock extravaganza last night, with Sydney-based instrumental legends Sleepmakeswaves celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their seminal album, Love of Cartography, alongside UK’s genre-defying post-hardcore/mathcore group Rolo Tomassi, and Japanese math rock titans LITE.

For the hundred or so lucky punters, we witnessed an electrifying experience that took us on an emotional and sonic journey, showcasing a unique blend of intense rhythms, soaring melodies, and intricate musicianship.

Rolo Tomassi opened the night with an atmospheric yet aggressive set, blending post-hardcore and mathcore into a whirlwind of emotion and complexity. The band’s performance kicked off with Drip, an absolute flood of intensity and intricate rhythm shifts, showcasing their technical proficiency right from the start. The breakdowns hit hard, leaving the audience in awe of the chaotic yet calculated energy.

The band showcased their dynamic range, with vocalist Eva Spence’s haunting melodies punctuated by powerful screams. The ebb and flow between calmness and aggression keeps the audience fully immersed in the performance, with layers of melody building into massive, wall-of-sound climaxes throughout the set.

Mutual Ruin, from the 2022 album Where Myth Becomes Mystery, sees the set take a darker, more brutal turn. The jagged time signatures and intense, dissonant riffs showcase the band’s intricate musicianship and raw energy. Rolo Tomassi totally captivates the crowd, as they masterfully shift between softer passages and heavier sections.

Stage Knives keeps the momentum high, with razor-sharp transitions, syncopated rhythms and heavy grooves that feel almost hypnotic, but at the same time unrelentingly aggressive. In contrast, Rituals showcases a more doom-inspired atmospheric moment of the set, leading into some prog-tinged hardcore.

The balance between fragility and intensity here is nothing short of breathtaking, showcasing Rolo Tomassi’s ability to create a deeply emotional live experience. The band then hits us with the visceral Aftermath. It’s a moment where the audience finds themselves caught between introspection and sheer awe, the song’s emotional weight hanging heavy in the air. The set ends with A Flood of Light, To Resist Forgetting, and Cloaked—a powerful trio filled with both melancholy and catharsis.

The band builds toward epic crescendos and explosive finishes, with A Flood of Light particularly standing out as a massive, almost orchestral journey through sound. By the time they close with the crushing weight of Cloaked, the audience is left breathless, fully immersed in the intense and atmospheric journey Rolo Tomassi has just delivered.

Up next, LITE takes the stage, bringing their signature blend of math rock and post-rock to the forefront. They open with Ef, immediately setting the tone for a technically impressive and rhythmically complex set.

The precision of each member is impeccable, as every note and beat feels meticulously placed. Deep Inside continues the technical onslaught with intricate guitar work from Nobuyuki Takeda (guitar & vocals) and Kozo Kusumoto (guitar and synth) that interweaves beautifully with Jun Izawa’s pulsating bass and Akinori Yamamoto’s driving drums. The song’s energy is infectious, and the crowd can’t help but nod along to the unconventional time signatures and rhythmic patterns.

Crushing brings a melodic and groove-oriented feel. The interplay between guitars and bass is particularly stunning here, blending passages that feel both organic and mathematical. With Endless Blue, LITE pulls the audience into a more introspective space.

The song builds slowly but surely, with layers of sound creating a lush, atmospheric experience. The slow burn leads to a funk-filled final passage that feels triumphant and uplifting. The band then dives into Sosue, a frenetic and energetic track that showcases their math rock roots.

The shifting time signatures and intricate riffs demand the audience’s full attention, and the band’s technical prowess shines through every note. Thread offers a more serene moment, with cleaner funk guitar tones and a steady, hypnotic rhythm. It’s a welcome respite before the band ramps things back up with D, a fast-paced and high-energy track that whips the crowd back into a frenzy.

As the set draws to a close, LITE finishes strong with Bond, Breakout, and the epic Infinite Mirror. The crowd is left buzzing with excitement, in full appreciation of the technical mastery, emotional depth, and, dare-I-say, funk that LITE brings to the stage.

Finally, Sleepmakeswaves takes the audience on an ethereal, cinematic journey through their 2014 ARIA nominated masterpiece, Love of Cartography. They open with Perfect Detonator, a track that gradually builds into an explosive wall of sound, setting the tone for the rest of their set. The band’s ability to create atmosphere is immediately apparent, as the audience is enveloped in sweeping soundscapes and emotional depth.

Traced in Constellations follows, with its soaring melodies and intricate guitar work. The dynamics of the song shift between moments of calm and powerful crescendos, creating a sense of awe as the music ebbs and flows.

With Singularity and Emergent, Sleepmakeswaves showcases their knack for blending melody with heaviness, as delicate guitar lines give way to crushing riffs and thundering drums. Emergent builds slowly, allowing the audience to get lost in its evolving textures before reaching a breathtaking climax.

The set reaches a high point with Great Northern. The soaring guitars and pulsating drums create an expansive, cinematic feel, transporting the crowd to another world entirely. As the band moves into The Stars Are Stigmata and A Little Spark, the energy continues to build, with the audience fully immersed in the ethereal soundscapes. The seamless transitions between calm, reflective moments and intense, powerful crescendos keep everyone captivated.

How We Built the Ocean, Something Like Avalanches, and Your Time Will Come Again close out the set powerfully. The final songs are a masterclass in post-rock, with layers of sound building into dense, emotional peaks that leave the crowd spellbound.

Throughout the set the band members reminisce on their journey over the past 10 years since the release of Love of Cartography and are truly thankful and humbled by the love shown by the crowd tonight, and by their well-deserved success over their career.

Let’s hope Sleepmakeswaves continue for many more years, and that Mike and the crew at Bird’s Robe can continue to support and develop the progressive and instrumental scene in Australia and across the world with such amazing tours as the one we have witnessed tonight.

 – GALLERY –