Review: Christian Stanger
Photography: Nate Rose

Six years ago, Everblack covered Download in Sydney as Soft Play, albeit under a different name, played early in the afternoon and announced themselves on the continent.  The mostly unfamiliar crowd were quickly won over by the standing drum technique of Isaac Holman and the guitar sans bass intensity of Laurie Vincent as they hurled themselves around the stage for a short but viciously volatile set of punk and punk-adjacent loud noises.

The energy was insatiable it was impossible to rip your eyes away from the stage. They were the best band of the day – no easy feat, given the lineup. God bless whoever followed them. We couldn’t wait for a return performance. Which brings us to tonight.

But first, These New South Whales have managed to fit in tonight’s support slot in their yearly jaunt up the East Coast. These guys have positioned themselves uniquely within the Australian music zeitgeist. They have found a niche, wedged somewhere between post-punk quartet (the band) and dry comedy (their mockumentary-style TV series).

Plus a podcast. Please try and keep up. All that aside, they are sort of a legendary band that have been around the traps and are steeped in lore. Tonight though, they are a band of punks with a catalogue of catchy tunes to get the crowd warmed up for what’s ahead.

‘Bending At The Knee’ kicks off proceedings and we’re away. The band is fairly stationary throughout with only vocalist, Jamie Timothy, weaving across the stage between lines of shoegaze poetry. ‘Cholesterol Heart’ is an early banger that gets the crowd singing along but it’s the between-song banter that gets everyone onside. “What’s your name? 1-2-3 go!” he jokes as the entire room screams an unintelligible mix. “Darryl?” he replies.

The set itself is a heady mix of all the band’s releases, but it’s the later tracks from 2022’s ‘TNSW’ that really shine through. The album’s less upbeat, more bleak but no less catchy standouts ‘Rotten Sun’ and ‘Changes’ close the set.

The wait between bands drags on, and quick friendships form in the pit. I’d love to say the boisterous blonde behind me let out a charming yell after each filler track, but that wouldn’t do justice to the sheer abrasiveness of whatever that was. Nearly an hour of this from when These New South Whales shut up shop, finally the music stops, one last excited yelp, and the house lights dim and stage glows yellow as the opening sample to ‘All Things’ fills the venue and the lads, shirtless and in only their boxers emerge on stage. They stare at the crowd, kick in and it’s on. “I’m the nicest dickhead you’ve ever met!” bellows Isaac from behind his kit as I feel two hands on my back before being shoved forward, propelled through a forming circle pit to the barrier.

Dozens of other punters press toward the front as ‘Mirror Muscles’ starts and does nothing to allay the madness. It escalates and hits fever pitch as Laurie appears at the barrier, looming over the front of the crowd before launching himself into it, guitar and all, in the first of many attempts at stage diving tonight.

The set is stacked at the top with Heavy Jelly highlights, ‘Bin Juice Disaster’, ‘Isaac Is Typing’ and ‘Act Violently’ all appearing in the first handful of tracks before the duo take to the floor or the triffid, where I was previously standing, for an impromptu knee-slide demonstration followed by a chaotic ‘Fuck The Hi-Hat’ from 2016’s Take Control release. Laurie informs us that Isaac has been suffering a migraine today, which makes this performance even more impressive as screams each hoarse verse from his throat with head-rattling intensity.

The band throw-back to early favourite, ‘Sockets’ before comeback single ‘Punk’s Dead’ is unleashed. Probably the most anarchic moment of the night as the crowd surge, eager to scream back every word with particular emphasis on the post-interlude line: “Johnny Rotten is rolling his bed, I was gonna say grave but the fucker ain’t dead!” Poetry of the highest order, appreciated by the now extremely full, Triffid.

Isaac enters the floor again to tell a story and invites anyone who wants to dance to do so, before demanding a “girls only” mosh pit for the short, sharp, simple intensity of ‘Girl Fight’. The energy of both Isaac and Laurie, the pacing of the set, and the sound itself is colossal. Laurie runs and jumps across the stage on multiple occasions with the only moment of poignancy coming as he picks up the mandolin for a heartfelt ‘Everything and Nothing’, before the chaos ensues once more as the band picks up where they left off.

Ending things with the 1-2 punch of ‘Beauty Quest’ and ‘The Hunter’, Soft Play depart the stage. No encore needed. The Triffid heaved tonight from front to back but the chaos in that packed, rippling pit is something to behold and not something I’ve seen in the venue before. Surely, another album rotation and they’ll be back, but what venue can hold them? Wherever it is, don’t miss it again!