Live Review: Deadshits! 4: Woods, Hunx & His Punx, Blank Realm, Naked On The Vague & Kitchens Floor

The moody indie rock of Kitchen's Floor is a fitting soundtrack to the gloomy weather that ravages the streets outside, as the fourth instalment of the annual Deadshits! Festival gets underway. The claustrophobic vocals of Matt Kennedy hang in the thick and heavy air, and while they're undoubtedly morose, you can hear pop hooks almost clawing to get out. The band are strong; the drone of the synth and the staid but strong basslines pinning down Kennedy's big open guitar chords for much of the set.

A duel set from Blank Realm and Naked On The Vague sees six members of the respective bands on The Zoo's stage. Early, it seems the Sydney visitors are merely fitting in to make an embellished Blank Realm, but it's not too long before their voice is heard through the Brisbane band's groove. After a big, fun start, things get spacier as the drums are abandoned and the synths are cranked up. There are flashes of greatness and it's testament to the musicians that it never descends into the messy, noisy shit-fight it could; but there are also moments where it seems a little too awkward a melange and one yearns for either band to be up there on their lonesome.

Clad in jumpsuits decorated with all manner of punk rock and metal band patches, from Iron Maiden to The Wipers, Hunx & His Punx bust out their trashy garage rock to an eager throng. Seth Bogart constantly admits to being drunk and stoned in his entertaining between song banter, and while he's a little all over the place, his Punx are incredibly solid backing him up. If You're Not Here (I Don't Know Where You Are) and Gimmie Gimmie Back Your Love are a couple of early highlights from their back catalogue before the first taste of the band's forthcoming record Street Punk sees them mining very different territory. Bad Skin is a short, sharp, thrashy early-'80s LA-inspired punk rock number that encourages Bogart to cover the crowd in beer and guitarist Justin Champlin to attempt a stage dive that ends up taking out a diminutive girl in front of the stage.

Private Room, with Bogart on guitar, sees him at his most together – for better or worse – while Too Young To Be In Love is sweet, only to be completely forgotten as the gorgeous The Curse Of Being Young sees bassist Shannon Shaw acting as an incredible lynchpin, her stunning vocals enough to send a chill down your spine. Bad Boy, another sub-30 second slice of thrash, smashes us around before the band come to a triumphant finish with Lovers Lane.

The crowd is a little less dense for Woods, revellers preferring to hang back, drink a few beers and chat while the band plough through their brand of rollicking indie folk. Founding frontman Jeremy Earl is one hell of a songwriter and his band gel wonderfully; jamming out frequently, showing an innate understanding of each others' playing, while never really detracting from the quality of the songs.

There's a fair amount of material taken from last year's Bend Beyond album; Is It Honest? the high water mark with its killer pop arrangement, though Rain On from 2009's Songs Of Shame is another highlight. They're diverse, calling to mind Wilco, Roky Erickson and even Paul Simon at times and while they're more than capable tonight, it feels rigid after the party punk immediately before. The crowd has thinned considerably when Woods come to their noisy conclusion, a shame as they are at their best when they're locked into this singular groove, but one imagines they've still made more than a handful of new fans tonight.