20 years ago Mat McHugh, the man behind the band The Beautiful Girls, released the album entitled We’re Already Gone.
Despite the band’s established following at the point, specifically for the popular tracks Periscopes and La Mar (The Ocean), it was this LP that signified an emergence into a whole new sound.
Adding layers of brass, We’re Already Gone left behind the acoustic indie surf sounds of Morning Sun and Learn Yourself and garnered ska and reggae style synth and guitar sections, as well as drawing on the driving rhythms of dub music.
It was a monumental shift towards a new era for The Beautiful Girls and perhaps one that has contributed to their musical presence that has spanned over 25 years. In celebration of this evolution and the album that was, The Beautiful Girls took to the stage of the Torquay Hotel Saturday 31 May.
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The hotel itself is under renovation, perhaps reminding The Beautiful Girls of gigs gone by, but the makeshift stage mount (a milk crate) was no deterrent for the band’s performance, nor was it a hindrance for Geelong local Hassall who, with electric guitar in tow, warmed up the crowd.
Story wove together Hassall’s electric-ballad-like songs as their lyrics traversed a dependence on coffee, being in relationship with those that are no good for you and one of their most recent tracks Boss Level Shit. As they say, the stage was certainly set, and the atmosphere established by Hassall.
And then as a brief interlude drew to a close the full four -iece that is The Beautiful Girls, plus saxophonist and trumpeter, propelled themselves up over the milk crate and into a start-to-finish recital of the seminal We’re Already Gone.
Hard hitting tracks like And We’ll Dance On The Ashes Of What’s Left, The Biggest Lie I Ever Told and Girl, Lately Things Have Been Changing showcased the band’s musical versatility. There was clear ska, reggae and dub influence woven throughout, with a strong blues sound coming through on the latter.
It was during these heavier tracks that the tones of McHugh’s telecaster were on full display, with some of the solos luring the crowd into a hypnosis, distorting any regular sense of temporality. But then it was “time to party”, as McHugh and bandmates beckoned in the crowd to move their feet to what would be considered some of the band’s greatest hits.
Songs like Blackbird, Music and I Thought About You, drew the 90-minute set to a close. Yet it was their evocative song La Mar (The Ocean) that acted as the grand finale. It was no surprise the entirety of the crowd was singing along to this household classic, as the band performed an electrified version to the jubilant audience.
The Beautiful Girls have certainly had an impact on the Australian music scene, and as their nationwide anniversary tour of We’re Already Gone ripples into July, celebrating their history as a band seems a necessity.
