It was warm in St Michael’s Uniting Church on Monday night – warm enough to quell excited pre-gig chatter with the stifling drowsiness of Sunday mass. The differences were clear, though: the age of the congregation, the cluster of instruments waiting patiently on stage, and a soft blue light that settled on the audience as UK mood-rock group Daughter took to the stage, ducking their heads shyly.
Leading with ‘Still’ from last year’s debut album If You Leave, Elena Tonra’s voice was instantly silencing, laden with trepidation and the resigned sadness that echoes through so many of her songs. Anxiously building to a blinding crescendo before dropping back to a steady electronic heartbeat, ‘Still’ set the tone for what would be an hour and a half of smooth, polished, yet emotionally raw music.
Balancing tracks from If You Leave with those from their 2011 EPs His Young Heart and The Wild Youth, Tonra led the audience on a journey of broken hearts and cold winters filled with anxiety, hope, and the unknown. Backlit by candles, a more fitting stage for Daughter’s uniquely evocative music would be hard to find.
Each song, whether built around an aching, circular guitar melody like ‘Amsterdam’ or the soaring epiphany of the chorus in ‘Human’ was incredibly powerful. Founding member Igor Haefeli seemed more comfortable the more noise he was making, playing his guitar with a bow at times and adding much-needed dynamics to both the sound and stage presence.
Support act Vancouver Sleep Clinic deserve an honourable mention for their astonishingly powerful set, performing to such a level that would put musicians double their age to shame. It’s impossible not to draw comparisons with Justin Vernon or James Vincent McMorrow vocally, but 17-year-old Tim Bettinson’s repertoire of heartfelt, brooding electronic pop was performed with a genuinely moving sensitivity that will no doubt serve him well as he jets off to support London Grammar on their upcoming US tour.
Daughter reference constantly this feeling of pure, aching sorrow, almost adolescent in its melodrama. Their music is moving in small doses – perfect through headphones while walking home in the rain – but in a live setting, the melancholia can become a little tiring. The slow-burning ‘Smother’ was so harrowingly sad that in the silent church it was like hearing a very personal confession. One couldn’t help but hold their breath during the line, “Oh lord, I’m sorry if I smothered you/I sometimes wish I’d stayed inside my mother…”
Faster paced songs like ‘Human’ and the much-anticipated ‘Youth’ brought some light to the darkness, with Tonra’s voice sounding even more ethereally beautiful the louder and harder she sang. Throughout the set, melodies were woven seamlessly through one another, making it hard to believe that there were only four musicians on stage.
While the music was tightly arranged, fitting, and flowing in all the right places, Tonra and co. initially seemed stunned into silence between songs, loosening up a little only towards the show’s end. Exclaiming, “This is the hottest church we’ve ever played!” and jamming to a funky 70s bass riff before the final encore, it was easy to get the impression that they wanted to stay in that moment for as long as possible.
Finally, and surprisingly, the band launched into an impressively Daughter-fied version of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, a song set apart by a muted guitar riff and almost-whispered vocals. Signalling the end of their first Australian tour, the standing ovation they received echoed around the carpeted floors and stained glass windows, playing the band out as they left the stage.
