Live Review: Cub Sport, Eves Karydas, Merk

A later-than-expected start and a delay with doors opening sees a huge queue of fans form outside the Corner tonight. Launching their new album Bats with four celebratory sold-out gigs, Cub Sport already have a huge and seemingly very excited fanbase in Melbourne. It's a good thing that they are doing an all-ages show tomorrow as most of the fans here look 'barely legal'. Security are on red alert at the door, vigilantly keeping an eye out for anyone looking to sneak in on a fake ID. The crowd is comprised of lots of young ladies and a load of very young couples looking a little shy and being a little coy with each other.

There's a shriek of hysteria from female fans when Merk take to the stage. It not quite Beatlemania, but an obvious reaction to a bunch of pretty boys striking winsome poses while playing polite rockers. Merk and his band seem a little surprised at first, but settle in to play a solid set of indie that feels like a throwback to Britpop with some of the sounds of Creation Records. The tight, bare-bones approach of drums, bass and guitar is the focus with flourishes of electronic organ swirling in the mix. Although Merk needs a band to support him tonight, he is in fact a multi-instrumentalist who plays most of the instruments on last year's album Swordfish. I'm Easy is a groovy retro highlight that has fans clamouring for more.

Reminding the crowd why they are here tonight, Eves Karydas takes to the stage in an improvised cropped Club Sport tee. Karydas is a ridiculously talented vocalist and tunes like There For You and Further Than The Planes Fly suggest that, with the right support, she could quite easily take Lorde's crown. She seems to have moved on from her work as Eves The Behaviour, which washes over as a little more introspective. Tonight there's a light and fresh feel about Karydas' sound and, filled with loads of accessible hooks, it's clear that it's only a matter of time before she becomes TNBT.

Cub Sport seem a little nervous when they take to the stage. Perhaps it's because the show is being recorded for triple j. While their first album This Is Our Vice earned them a devoted following, their new album Bats continues to build on everything fans have come to love about this outfit from Brisbane. The hymnal O Lord with its luscious gospel harmonies elicits a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Cub Sport's tunes work slick and smooth grooves with an almost Balearic vibe. Zoe Davis' bass is deep and Dan Puusaari's drumming offers up some pretty chill beats. Sam Netterfield's synths are subtle and a touch elegant. Tim Nelson, with bleach blonde hair and dressed in white, rather disconcertingly looks a little like Bowie circa Modern Love.

At times Savage Garden feel like a point of reference, but Nelson takes things next-level when he slips into that dreamy falsetto. Soft washes of sound providing the context for wistful reflections on unrequited love never felt so good. The set isn't a straight showcase of their new album, with older material like Come On Mess Me Up and I Can't Save You revealing themselves to be firm fan-favourites. Settling into a modern Frank Ocean-esque R&B groove, it starts to feel like Nelson is serenading his partner and fellow band member Sam Netterfield with unadorned messages of love. Such powerfully emotional music strikes deep into the hearts of swooning fans, except for the 20-something, too-cool-for-school dude next to us who is at pains to loudly explain to his girl that he doesn't like modern music and is obsessed with The Beatles. LOL. Cub Sport seem to have come such a long way in such a short time, emerging as one of the freshest and most distinctive voices in Australian pop music.