On their second visit to these shores this year, Britain’s Will And The People were ably supported by six piece Briscoe.
Hailing from Sydney, this is a band not lacking in ambition or talent. Their sound could be best described with adjectives like ‘epic’, ‘haunting’ and ‘evocative’.
Highly reminiscent of bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, The Waterboys and, more recently, The Polyphonic Spree; it’s heartening to see a band this new and young really stretch themselves.
With some great tracks to their credit, like “Animal”, “Seven Of You” and “Uh Oh Mexico”, this is a band to definitely keep an eye on in the future.
The members of Will And The People, led by the charismatic Will Rendle, share a mutual love of all things reggae and ska. They bring to mind Western bands such as The Police and Madness in the way they interpret music from another land and culture.
With youth and energy to burn, they put in a very charming and likeable set for a crowd that has definitely grown in size since the last time they were here.
The latest album, Friends, displays a move forward for the group in terms of both songwriting and musicianship. This was definitely on display in both the music presented and the crowd reaction.
The assembled literally didn’t stop dancing for all they were worth throughout – the perfect act for a Saturday night in this fair city.
highlights from the setlist included “Holiday”, “100,000 Times Before” and one of those ‘should have been massive’ tracks, “The Game”, a brutally honest and self-depreciating look at love gone wrong.
The older material got the biggest response however, with “Lion In The Sun” going down an absolute treat.
The night ended with a gorgeous a capella take by the whole band on “Trains” showing off, in Rendle’s words, “some harmony shit.”
This was a great way to close out what was a fun and very enjoyable performance. It also gives credence to the way that Australian audiences tend to embrace acts that can’t even get arrested in their homeland.
