THU 21 OCT
FRI 22 OCT
LOW
THE DRONES
P I K E L E T, P O N Z U I S L A N D
LOW
USA
Since 1994, US band Low have
released a steady stream of critically
acclaimed albums that blend minimalist
soundscapes and the subtle beauty of
Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker's vocal
harmonies. Described as a soundtrack
for post-traumatic shock, the band's
live performances have induced a
variety of responses from triumphant
applause to silent religious adulation.
Returning to Australia for a special oneoff performance, these stalwarts of the
American independent music scene will
drench the Forum with their trademark
perpetual reverb.
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P. K . 1 4 , T H E T W E R P S
PIKELET
PONZU ISLAND
Starting out as a hardcore kid and a
drummer with serious chops in local
bands such as Baseball and True Radical
Miracle, Evelyn Morris’ debut album
Pikelet was decidedly un-hardcore, made
with accordion, a floor tom and loop
pedals. Performing as Pikelet, her second
album Stem was recorded with producer
Casey Rice (Tortoise, Sea And Cake,
Liz Phair) and is an incredible expansion
of vision. Now a dynamic four-piece live
band, Pikelet brings a cosmic space-prog
edge that infiltrates Morris' wide-eyed
style with mind-expanding results.
Inspired by utopian visions of an exotic
technopolis, composer/producer Bradley
Elias created tropical synth-pop project
Ponzu Island. Elias and his cohort of eight
technologically diverse instrumentalists
meld exotica with oriental pop melodies,
lush chords and live electronics for a
sound to send audiences on a FantAsian
voyage into the future.
Australia
Australia
Image: Low
THE DRONES
Australia
With a sound all their own, The Drones
deliver an aural assault like few bands
can. Inspired by a multitude of artists
and musical genres including Hank
Williams, Townes van Zandt, Black Flag
and Suicide, The Drones have evolved
into something that at times sounds like
alt‑country, dirge riddled blues, garage
punk or straight-ahead rock‘n'roll.
Live, The Drones create a melancholy
wrestle between violent guitars and front
man Gareth Liddiard’s incendiary voice as
it lights up his angular poetry.
P. K . 1 4
THE TWERPS
Making their Australian debut is one of
the most influential bands on the Chinese
indie scene. P.K.14 occupies a space in
Chinese music that might be analogous
to that of Talking Heads or Television in
the New York of the 1970s. In their native
Mandarin they sing of disaffected Chinese
youth, but their pared down sounds,
explosive energy and passion certainly
need no translation. As Time Magazine
put it after their sell-out 2009 US tour:
“Loud, raw and searching – theirs is the
sound of modern China.”
Loveable Melbourne scallywags
The Twerps make incredibly warm-hearted
pop music, low on flash but high on
feeling. They hark back to ‘50s rock’n’roll,
‘90s lo-fi, and ‘80s New Zealand pop,
but the big beautiful mess they make of
their influences is all their own.
China
Australia
Image: The Drones by Tony Mott
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