Touring in celebration of their debut album release, You’ll Turn Into Me, Perth’s Split Seconds are partway through their national string of dates, playing Melbourne’s Ding Dong Lounge tonight.
Local 5-piece, Dirt Farmer, take a fair stab with their pitchforks at warming up the band room and a small, but nonetheless energetic dance floor forms for their efforts. It’s very difficult indeed to stay still when watching the young men onstage reignite 60s surf rock n roll with dollops of fresh and eager enthusiasm.
Their latest single “Kick It” is the perfect example, gearing up the puddling crowd. Their short and very sweet set is complete with rather adorable, microphone-sharing ‘na-na-na’s and their closing song adds another layer with bluesy harmonica solos, surely earning them a few new fans afterwards.
The other 5-piece of the evening, Split Seconds, carries some of the most finely-balanced male harmonies gracing the airwaves today. They open after a short wait and maintain all of the energy the previous band built up.
“Maiden Name” could almost be mistaken for a Josh Pyke song, It’s a beautiful, glistening story sung with so much warmth that it buckles the knees unexpectedly. It’s difficult to place these guys at first. They look like regular Joes (that is, there’s none of that cool musician swagger surrounding them), they come off incredibly sincere and very friendly.
The sound they create has a distinct Australian flavour to it, reminiscent of Paul Kelly or even Midnight Oil. It’s a familiar warmth which they emit and the audience has no trouble absorbing it tonight.
Their bass guitar perhaps rattles a bit too intensely at times; whether or not this is deliberate is debatable as it teeters on creating some ear-splitting reverb. They manage to pull it back and avoid ribcages shuddering to pieces.
Frontman Sean Pollard occasionally speaks in between songs but it’s the keys player who melts hearts. “Aw man, thanks so much, hey. That was mad!” he says, after a deafening crowd sing-a-long to Triple J favourite “Top Floor”.
The dance floor is well and truly back into full swing after this and continues for “Amanda”, to the visibly chuffed band members. “No Dramas” is the ballad of the evening, in comparison to the rest of their set. It builds with shimmering guitar and boy-like choral voices against a foreboding backdrop of drums, bass and keys.
“All You Gotta Do” closes the set with huge smiles and bucket loads of sweat from both the band and the dancing crowd.
The men segue smoothly between songs with instrumental intervals or otherwise commenting on the AFL game taking place at the same time as the gig. It’s a great night for both musicians and footballers from Western Australia, as the Fremantle Dockers win their game; and after that performance, it’s safe to say that Split Seconds had a winning gig of their own as well.
– Anne-Louise Hill
