Live Review: Little Scout, Eves, Shem Allen

Shem Allen, stepping out from Skinny Jean, layers synth pads, samples and tremulous guitar over soft, wailing vocals for his opening number, before settling briefly into plucked guitars and indie pop normalcy on the second. Nothing stays static throughout this set, a marked sense of experimentation being the only consistent factor between the tracks. It's good to see an artist pushing the potential of their own creativity and while none of the tracks really feel complete – still rough around the edges – they're definitely pointing somewhere interesting.
By contrast, Eves (aka Hannah Karydas) sounds resolutely safe – simple strummed guitars and sweetly melodic vocals, turned gravelly with emotion. After two songs she's joined by a second performer who adds extra guitar lines, triggers programmed drums and provides back-up vocals, filling the songs out and allowing Eves to add a degree of complexity to her live performance that distinguishes her from the indie-folk milieu. A couple of exceptions aside, the tracks are sharp and well timed, and with her latest single Zen recalling Emma Louise, there's a lot of range and talent on display from this young performer.

With a new album to launch, two new touring members (bass and second guitar), and their first Brisbane headline show this year, it's a big night for Little Scout. The venue had seemed a touch quiet early on, but as the local darlings take to the stage the room fills out and it's clear that fans were just biding their time.

Drawing heavily from their new record, Are You Life, there's something angular, almost kraut-rock, to Little Scout's music tonight. Heavy, muscular drumming propels the set, and the rhythms on the new tracks are noticeably complex, but still manage to fit seamlessly into the indie pop structures of the songs, Miro Mackie's talent shining through. We Are Walking Out garners the biggest response early on, and it's not hard to see why – a perfect slice of driving pop, it's a song that any band would be thrilled to have in their repertoire. The new tracks stand up well though and recent single March Over To Me gets a good reaction, while the energetic Flash In A Pan looks set to be a future crowd-pleaser.

Melissa Tickle is in great form all night, making up for her sister's missing harmonies. While there's not a lot of banter, it's an impressively tight set – right up until the encore, when a cover of Weezer's El Scorcho, apparently unrehearsed and voiced by touring guitarist Charles Sale, caps off the night, adding an engaging sense of playfulness to an otherwise very polished gig.