“It was a dark and stormy night” is apparently the worst possible way to start a novel, but it’s the only way to describe Sydney on the night that Sonny & The Sunsets performed at Good God Small Club. Local band Adults entertained the early huddlers with their ominous post-punk jangle, with DJ selections between bands to boot.
Fellow locals Community Radio seem to have come out of nowhere to be all over Sydney stages of late, playing unassuming yet knockabout guitar pop. Anchored by some terrific bass playing and neat (if not awkward) lines such as “I’m sick in the car, I’m sick everywhere”, they certainly endeared themselves to the growing crowd.
New Zealanders Surf City noted that it was their first visit in three years. The band eased the crowd into the set with an old song, winning everyone over almost instantly. It was specs and caps to the sides, Flying Nun shirt and chords down the middle. There were guitars bouncing and glowing from all angles, harmonised vocals, and bounding drums. The surf was up and the barrels were rolling.
Then their bass amp blew, and the tide and the mood went with it. Fussing, fiddling, foldback filling requests, and ultimately frustration followed. Unfortunately the crowd was left with a shorter sample of what could have been a super great set. That said, the technical issue tetchiness made for a more raucous and frenzied set from a band with an obvious abundance of noise-pop mastery at their disposal.
After a short break, the dark stage was graced by a double dose of gingham in the form of a great shirt on the drummer and the most excellent trousers on Sonny Smith. Smith and his Sunsets belted through a well-mannered and brisk batch of songs from both their new and penultimate records with not so much as a word or pause between.
Everyone was politely mesmerised and hooked on every aloof quirk, foot shuffle, economic lyric, and word from Smith. However, between the lack of lights and conversing, the crowd weren’t given a way in. The dark world of the band seemed impenetrable, perhaps understandably, as they played songs mostly concerned with a recently deceased friend.
Finally, Smith surfaced for some air and amiable chatter, announcing, “Right, we’re all warmed up now, let’s get into it!” before submerging again to the dark and feminine depths of ‘Planet Of Women’. The dancefloor became the ‘river’ as Sonny threw himself in and shimmied in front of nearby ladies.
Songs seem to be just a small part of the vision for Smith. He not only writes music, but he also curates artwork. Smith is equally adept at writing screenplays, scripts, and short stories amid your more conventional music.
During the set, the honey-voiced Tahlia Harbour on guitar and backing vocals played the roles of narrator, a female co-star, and even just another party to a conversation. A prime example of this was during ‘Green Blood’, the closing track off Antenna To The Afterworld, and a song that contained the following exchange: “Something happened / What’s that Sonny? / I fell in love / Oh yeah? / It was weird, really weird”.
The confessional lyrics continued with, “I have a story, I killed someone / I’ve had to suppress it deep down, but this is how it really happened”. The exacting descriptive detail that followed could easily have flowed from the eagle eye of a CSI cast member.
After the sweetness of ‘Too Young To Burn’ and the impromptu ‘Teen Age Thugs’, it was time for Sonny & The Sunsets to saunter back over to the merch desk, ending a remarkable evening of polished Popfrenzy bands.
