The 23rd of March saw renowned, and slightly irreverent project, Tropical Fuck Storm take to the stage of the Corner Hotel in celebration of their debut LP, ‘A Laughing Death in Meatspace’. Supported by Geelong grown, U-Bahn and New War, it was a night of chaos and racket (in the best way possible). Everyone was squished shoulder to shoulder and it was each to their own when the music began.
At first I was skeptical that fans wouldn’t bring themselves to give Liddiard’s new project live on stage the love that the Drones received, but TFS made it clear from the beginning that this was no old time set and the crowd reaction was wonderfully surprising.
A Laughing Death in Meatspace is cohesive, raw and heavy, decorated with sweeter, more melodious vocal tones from Fiona Kitschin and clever and observant lyrics. It’s a carefully balanced dynamic of destruction and mania. TFS portray a serious and dark stage presence, which completely suits their repertoire and coupled with their foul-mouthed shrieks, the band constructed not just any old gig, but a devised and emotive performance. TFS paint a painful portrait of quite how fucked everybody is (excuse the language) and their fury and angered manifestation of the stage lend foul realities about the way we live our lives. ‘You let my Tyres Down’ really got the adrenaline pumping throughout the room, whilst tracks like ‘Chameleon Paint’ have a funkier, jagged sense of urgency to them.
Ofcourse it wasn’t surprising that amongst crowd favourites, a classic from The Drones’ back catalogue, ‘Baby’ was well received, with Liddiard’s chorus hard to hear over a sold-out room worth of a sing along. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a favourite of mine too. But whether TFS relive songs like ‘Baby’ and ‘Taman Shud’ because they want to, or because they feel it’s an obligation is questionable.
Playing through a set of art-punk riffs and askew rock discordance, TFS captured the emotion intended in their album. There’s a beauty in the darkness of Tropical Fuck Storm’s performance and their music is ever so relevant in this day and age. I’m intrigued and excited to hear what more is to come from the Melbourne rock legends and I can only hope that their fuzz and bleak howls continue to echo well into the future.
When: Saturday 23rd March 2019
Where: The Corner, Melbourne
Reviewed by Aine Keogh