Live Review: Holy Holy, Olympia, The Franklin Electric

A surprisingly full house for this early on in the month (no Dry Januarys here!) welcomed Canadian quartet The Franklin Electric to the stage. Their feel-good,catchy indie/folk vibes were the perfect warm up for the eager crowd.Tracks including Old Piano and Unsatisfied were polished and completed with some nice harmonies and great trumpet playing by lead man Jon Matte.

Synth-pop outfit Olympia brought a completely different feel, lead singer Olivia Bartley channelling a cross between Blondie and Sia in a sparkly gold jumpsuit and bright blonde hairdo with a powerful voice quite surprising for her stature. The music was a bit of a mixed bag; upbeat tracks like single Tourists worked well, but a few didn’t seem to fit their vibe, like the bluesy Atlantis, which lacked spunk.

A real mixed crowd of older folk-lovers and young fans, probably thanks to their recent exposure on triple j and a shout-out from Liam Gallagher, cheered in delight as pastoral-rock/country outfit Holy Holy took to the stage. Thrilled to be playing to such a crowd for the first night of their national album tour, they kicked straight off with Impossible Like You with a great energy that permeated throughout the room.

If I Were You gave guitarist Oscar Dawson a chance to show off his guitar skills in a seamless solo delivered with great passion as singer Timothy Carroll’s lush, husky voice melted through the notes. The whole band really got into History, moving around the stage with great gusto and displaying a great connection between them that’s refreshing to see.

New tracks Island and Elevator were well received and a cover of Phil Collins' Another Day In Paradise, with Olympia's Bartley, was a nice addition. Hit House of Cards finished the set to great applause.

Dawson and Carroll returned to the stage for an acoustic encore tribute of David Bowie’s Starman before being re-joined by the full band for latest single You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog to finish the set. A flawless performance from a band that have soared to great heights in the last year. Looking forward to seeing what’s next from these talented guys.