Live Review: Castlecomer w/ Selahphonic @ The Brightside

It’s no secret that indie rock is an incredibly popular genre in Australia. With heavyweight artists including Ball Park Music, British India, and Gang Of Youths, plus the countless other bands that continue to crop up, there’s always a plethora of rocking indie music to go around. The five Sydney lads that make up Castlecomer are quickly making their mark on the indie rock scene too, with the release of their third and most substantial EP to date ‘All Of The Noise’. The two brothers, two cousins, and lifetime close friend took to The Brightside and delivered a set full of honesty, integrity, and excellent stage charisma.

First up was Sunshine Coast group Selahphonic. Frontman Jamie Coyle geared up the audience with infectious electronic and guitar-driven pop-rock, and quickly got a group of girls up and moving and everyone’s feet tapping. Their set went from strength to strength, and was even extended due to the second support act’s cancellation. As a result the band revealed some new tracks expected to surface in their EP due next March.

It hardly felt like there was a wait between acts when Castlecomer graced the stage. Without so much as an introduction, Get In Line, one of the more pop-rock tracks from ‘All Of The Noise’, began. Lead vocalist Bede Kennedy paused to begin the next song before realising his right-hand man, lead guitarist Tommy ­Kennedy, had disappeared backstage. Bede told a quick tale of his day’s adventures to pass the time, informing the audience he’d literally only flown into Brisbane an hour earlier! “That’s the most rockstar thing I’ve ever done,” he proclaimed.

…he then had to purchase a hideously overpriced QANTAS ticket to make it on time! As a result, he commanded that we all better buy a sh*t-load of merch to make up for it.

They began the next song without Tommy, but he reappeared quickly with an entirely different guitar in hand, one that belonged to Selahphonic’s lead guitarist. With a quick adjustment of the strap, he was back strumming away for their sophomore EP’s lead track Miss December. The new EP’s title track The Noise was up next, and was all the electrifying cymbal-bashing goodness the song has become so popular for.

The band then treated us to some new music, in the form of a track they regularly play live but have yet to release, Make Love Make Music, with Bede exclaiming “You’ll get the lyrics to this one, it’s just ‘Make love/Make music’ a million times”. He wasn’t wrong, the track is super catchy and is an exciting promise of groovy tracks into the future.

After a literal #ThrowbackThursday with Eyes, with the perfect harmonies embodying classic Castlecomer tracks, Bede filled us in with his earlier flight issues. Blaming his workplace for disallowing his time off, and TigerAir for the cancellation of his original flight, he then had to purchase a hideously overpriced QANTAS ticket to make it on time! As a result, he commanded that we all better buy a sh*t-load of merch to make up for it.

All playing music together for nearly their whole lives, it comes as no surprise that Castlecomer’s seamless harmonies shine throughout their songs. That continued into their 2014 track Fugitive, a brooding rock anthem obviously influenced by the acoustic sound of their first EP. Among the harmonies, Bede’s voice was the highlight, and continued to be as the band begun a rock-infused cover of Tal Bachman’s one-hit wonder She’s So High.

The quintet connect with just about everyone in a crowd, providing electrifying, groove-worthy music with lyrics that can be picked up and sung back by the third chorus comes around.

Then, as promised, the classic Castlecomer tracks were brought back out. The ever-catchy Rosie filled The Brightside with excitement, the entire crowd now dancing and singing along. Even if you’d never dipped into the band’s debut acoustic-heavy release, you were grooving along. We were then taken straight back to the electric newer tracks, with the intense bass of Judy resounding through each and every audience member.

Being their most recent release from the EP, the track was adored by the crowd, with one lucky dude even getting handed the mic to sing the final chorus for Bede. The night was capped off with the two lead singles from ‘All Of The Noise’, Escapism and Fire Alarm, and the entire crowd were in love, dancing and singing along to every line.

The night showed Castlecomer are undoubtedly one band who can get you moving at any gig, even if you’ve never heard or seen them before. Their infectious riffs and charismatic band members make for an awesome show, and in an intimate venue such as The Brightside the sparks certainly fly. The quintet connect with just about everyone in a crowd, providing electrifying, groove-worthy music with lyrics that can be picked up and sung back by the third chorus comes around.