REVIEW: The Jungle Giants - Croxton Hotel, Melbourne

Opening the evening at The Croxton was Adelaide’s newest indie pop group, Heaps Good Friends. I’ll start with how charismatic all three members of the band are on stage, and how well they interact with the crowd while on stage. By halfway through their set, the crowd had well and truly warmed to them.

They played a number of un-released songs which in my opinion, were amazing. Their songs are full of catchy lyrics, upbeat bass guitar hooks and massive drums inspired by the 80’s. They worked their way to the end of the set where they played their latest single that’s being rotated highly on Triple J, ‘Olympic Sneakers’, and their insanely catchy number in ‘Lets Hug Longer’.

The main support came from brother-sister duo Lastlings. The group was a Triple J Unearthed finalist in 2016 and it is easy to see (and hear) why. Lead vocalist Amy Dowdle has a very similar aesthetic to the likes of Vera Blue and Joy. Their set was full of ambient pads and swirling, shimmering guitars that sat perfectly under Amy’s delicate vocals. Their well-known tracks such as ‘Time’ and ‘You’ were well received by the crowd.

The Jungle Giants exploded on to The Croxton stage full of energy and kicked their set off with their hit ‘She’s a Riot’. Lead singer/guitarist Sam Hale’s energy from the opening minute to their last song was a real highlight, and for me is the reason why The Jungle Giants are still able to be one of the country’s stand out indie rock bands.

They played some new material from their new LP such as ‘Waiting for a Sign’, ‘Quiet Ferocity’ amongst some old gems such as ‘Anywhere Else’, and the up tempo and much loved track ‘I Am What You Want Me to be’.

The Jungle Giants set stepped up into fourth gear when they delivered an ever so heart felt version of ‘You’ve Got Something’ before closing the set with their newest crowd favourites in ‘Bad Dream’ and ‘On Your Way Down’.

They finished off with an encore of two of their biggest crowd pleasers in ‘Used to Be in Love’ and ‘Feel the Way I do’. It was the bands third and final show at The Croxton and the energy levels did not let up throughout the whole set.

The Jungle Giants prove with their live show how vital they are to the Australian Music Scene.

Written by: JL Kennedy

Tickets.