Live Review: Waverley

Waverley, Friday September 23, 2011, Yah Yahs

Beat Magazine, 28 September 2011

Being a Melbournian in September, you would be forgiven for thinking the only thing worth leaving the house for on a Friday night are the footy finals. If you do manage to tear yourself away from the telecast however, you’re likely to be rewarded with seeing some of the city’s best new musical talents.

Grunge rockers Waverley launched their first single Where Were You on Friday, alongside Triple J unearthed winners The Owls and local folk piece Miyazaki – enough incentive to save the footy franks for next week.  Waverley have started earning radio recognition over the past few months and rightly so. Impressing early with the catchy One From Two, they introduce Feeling Nothingas “that song you might have heard us play on SYN FM this  morning” and you get the feeling you might be hearing a lot more of these types  of intros in the future.

 

It is clear from the first bounce that there are no bystanders in this band. Each member of the four-piece pulls their weight to maintain an impressive pace  throughout the show whilst ensuring it still sounds effortless. The drum-driven Paper Walls provides a nice change of pace and gives the guys enough breathing room to show off their musical skills.  There is a definite distinction between tracks from Waverley’s 2009 EP and newer material, which sounds tighter and more developed when played live.  New track Hearts Collide provides the most sincere moment of the night; the unashamedly honest lyrics silence the room instantly and you can see the audience connecting. 

 

Although Waverley appear completely self-assured whilst playing, between tracks they aren’t quite as confident. The vocal audience is providing plenty of encouragement but endearingly, the quartet doesn’t seem quite sure how to take  it. 

 

Lead single Where Were You is unsurprisingly, the crowd pleaser of the night, eliciting a mass sing along and providing a rousing lead-in for final track Who Will Find You.   For most Melbournians, the name ‘Waverley’ is synonymous with a local football ground but after Friday night’s show, I suspect that may not be the case for much  longer.

 

LOVED: Seeing the unbridled enthusiasm of a band who couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces during the show.

HATED: Seeing the unbridled enthusiasm of victorious Collingwood fans on Smith St who couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces after the match.

DRANK: Carlton Draught. I am a Blues supporter after all.