Despite the venue being barely half full, the Monday night Joker crowd were in fine form as they witnessed one of Australia’s greatest secrets showcase their brand of industrial bass, slashing guitar and metronomic work behind the drum kit, under the backdrop of intense vocal delivery.

Formed in 2014 out of a Melbourne bar and creative-writing course, a few explosive live shows culminated in their debut album It’s You. However, new record Drum is a lot bolder and more accomplished, with the four members now truly comfortable as a collective.

In a recent interview with Brightonsfinest, frontman Adam Curley explained that there was not much difference between writing for a live show and writing for an album. This is evident as you witness the four-piece live, with each composition as raw and powerful as on record: “We play around with different things in recording, like samples and synths and pedals – sounds we can’t replicate live. But we’re only four instruments and we write the songs together, and we haven’t wanted to stray too far from that yet,” he said.

Curley is the main draw to the group and a truly captivating frontman. He sporadically drops to the ground, stares into the distance and spent half the set with a lead entangled around his neck. It’s fascinating to watch as he goes from being slightly detached for the instrumental parts to going all in when needed. His bellowing voice is a commanding instrument in itself and perfectly matches the sonic transportations the other three took the crowd on.

As with most post-punk music, the bass playing is an important facet to the songs and Gold Class’ tracks alternate between throbbing beats to more measured waves. ‘Kids On Fire’ is a good example of the latter as it drew one of the most positive reactions of the night. With regards to the rest of the set, although you did feel the odd moment of déjà vu, it was a carefully crafted collection of the Melbourne band’s back catalogue.

‘Thinking of Strangers’ had an 80s post-punk disposition to it with the obvious reference points of The Smiths and Joy Division as well as similarities to modern bands such as Savages and Scarlet Rascal, as the song builds up around a guitar riff that moulds the core elements together. ‘We Were Never Too Much’ is slightly more jovial on an instrumental level, with the vocal delivery giving it a melancholic edge. Meanwhile, the bassline in ‘Mercurian’ could easily have been taken from Unknown Pleasures in what is a sinister intro.

‘Twist in the Dark’ was then a tight, unforgiving trip through post-punk that even steers towards krautrock at times, whilst ‘Rose Blind’s propulsive minimal backdrop kept things ticking over, before reverb drenched the soundscape and the guitar riff tussled for possession with the vocals on ‘Life as a Gun’.

Coming out for an unplanned encore, the small crowd were more than appreciative of a band that gave their all on stage. Whist Gold Class’ sound is not a total reinvention of post-punk, it does offers something new and fresh, with the steady drum beats, shimmering guitars, haunting vocals and slow marching rhythms all combining brilliantly into their live sound.

Paul Hill

Website: goldclassmusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/goldclassmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/goldclassband