In the last decade, Melbourne, Australia has emerged as one of the most productive and prolific indie rock scenes with numerous acts attracting international attention. One of the biggest acts from that scene is King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, psychedelic rockers that release albums and tour at a dizzying pace. Formed shortly after, The Murlocs have been sort of a sister project for King Gizzard featuring some of its members. Comparatively, they take a deeper foray into a specific sound more based around glam rock, blues and R&B that gives front man and King Gizzard member Ambrose Kenny-Smith the chance to put his vocals and harmonica chops fully in the spotlight. Now, with a handful of albums under their belt including the recently released Rapscallion, the ravenous fanbase of King Gizzard has been spilling over and propelling the success of The Murlocs. This was evidenced by their sold-out show at Portland, Oregon’s Star Theater on Friday, November 25th.
Opening with the punk-blues intensity of “Living Under a Rock,” the band put forth an immediate wave of energy that set the tone for everything that would follow. As one might expect, much of the set focused on Rapscallion. “Virgin Criminal” and “The Royal Vagabond” each tapped into the band’s droning jangle pop with the latter seeing Ambrose Kenny-Smith bust out his harmonica for a solo finale. New song, the stomping rocker “Russian Roulette”, made an appearance and allowed Cal Shortal to lay down one of the first of several psyched-out guitar solos before the song morphed into a funkified groove to make for one of the show’s jammier moments. “Wickr Man” gave Kenny-Smith the chance to really wail on his harp before the band took the song into a full-on frenzy of Aussie rock and roll before switching gears on the glam rocker “Eating at You.” “Bowlegged Beautiful” was nearly all instrumental and felt straight out of the King Gizzard playbook before Kenny-Smith stepped into alternate between vocals and harp.
Due to the sound being poorly mixed in the venue, many of the lyrics were not fully decipherable. But this is a band that’s about feel and building on peak moments of excitement, and Kenny-Smith’s wonky style of singing lends itself well to the band’s ferocious psychedelia in a way that transcends lyricism. On “Subsidiary,” the band switched effortlessly between prog, soaring glam and stoner metal before the wild punk extravaganza of “Bellarine Ballerina.” Other highlights included the spunky, harmonica-driven blues-rock of “Withstand,” the dreamy melodicism of “Compos Mentis” and the infectious throwback sound on “Francesca.” The band closed out the set with the fan favorite “Rolling On,” which found the audience singing along as Kenny-Smith got to strut his stuff as the front man with his mixture of contortions, squats, dance moves and swooning.
Over the course of ninety minutes, The Murlocs brought the crowd on a rock and roll journey that many reciprocated by dancing and sweating along. The band seemed hellbent on giving their fans a top-quality show that balanced front man antics, sharp playing, and a sensory-pleasing light show. Their buttoned up yet creative and free-flowing performance also proved once again why Melbourne has dominated the indie scene in recent years, especially when it comes to rock music. Though it remains to be seen if The Murlocs will ascend to the same heights as King Gizzard, Friday’s show in Portland was a reminder that they are well on their way.
