Gig Review: Oliver Tank at Northcote Social Club 21/6/2012

Having missed OLIVER TANK's first support act, THE TOWNHOUSES, I was pleased to make the second, FISHING. A duo from Sydney, their choppy samples and looped vocals rang out with a distinct AVALANCHES flavour.

The shaggy-haired pair sampled everything from KANYE and BEYONCE to a children's choir, and treated us to the best white boy rap I've seen in – um, ever? Using chipmunked vocal effects, the smaller of the two came out from behind his synth-desk and got jiggy with it. He was sure to inform us not to take that too seriously, however, as if the whole thing was in jest.

Atmospheric and percussive synths, a fat bass and cascading video game sound effects combined to create a wall of sound that was joyfully engaging. At least they're not FISHING without bait. (Sorry – I couldn't resist the awful but amazing pun).

The main man opened his set with electric guitar and those haunting vocals which ricochet off the walls and wrap you in their splendour. The first track references his Triple J Unearthed hit 'Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion' – after a sparse, live introduction, that slow synthesised pulse splinters the guitar fuzz, and smacks pleasingly of MASSIVE ATTACK circa 'Teardrop'.

Distorted guitar, xylophone and reverbed vocals define the OLIVER TANK soundscape, and create a warm, dream-like state. When he sings "all I do is dream of you", looped over and over, you can hear the yearning in his falsetto.

On a giant screen in the background computerised angels and jellyfish hover over flowing water, and the oceanic images combined with the pulsating synths create an ethereal atmosphere that lulls you into a trance – I found myself feeling drowsy. But maybe that was just the red wine.

A highlight of TANK's live show is a magical sample that sounds as if it was lifted from a vintage black & white film, of a man discussing his perpetual dreaming. Shivers.

The latest of his tunes to be played on Triple J, 'Embrace' was accompanied with apologies for guest vocalist FAWN MYER's absence, but TANK's vocals were surprisingly powerful. The man knows how to vary the dynamics of a track, which is essential when you're creating stretched out canvases of sparsely layered sound.

Included in the setlist were his cover of SNOOP DOGG's 'Beautiful', and tunes off the hip-hop and R&B influenced mix-tape he's been working on. A highlight was 'Emotions', sampling DESTINY'S CHILD.

The familiar syncopated heartbeat of 'Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion' is sweeping, with strings and live electric guitar that adds a welcome live element to an already magnificent composition. That's the refreshing thing about OLIVER TANK. On the face of it he is just another electronic synth-heavy sample artist, but his sound strips away all that fuzz to come back to the basics of a voice and guitar.

Words by Rebecca McCann.

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