June 25, 2020

Concert Review: Pumice, Wine Cellar, 24 June 2020

An evening of Skronk. Noise into beauty. Art from chaos. From Pumice and opening act Oksun Ox and my first time seeing both.

Skronk can be described as an unholy racket to some, but the lifeblood of music to others. Think of Jimi Hendrix playing Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock.

First up is Ben Holmes as Oksun Ox. Has a banana box full of gadgets, modified keyboards and a small six- string acoustic guitar laden with add-ons.

Opening with a tune called Dishes, and there’s a blues stomp beat over which distorted guitar lays out a Captain Beefheart mutated R’n’B riff. Makes the room feel like a Southern American juke joint.

Next one Pleddy and a more industrial noise, distorted electronic beats pitching in into Pere Ubu territory.

Panadol is different again. The funk beats of old school hip-hop merged with German electronica of Kraftwerk which produced the style of music of Afrika Bambaata and the Jonzun Crew. Most of the vocals are lost inside the instruments tonight, and sound atonal.

I am reading a set list written on a scrap of paper by Ben after his performance, so the titles are approximate to what I can decipher.

Roly Fibre has an actual melody, again with a blues stomp beat. Then you hear electronic overtones, 5G radiation encompassing the room. Alice ten feet tall, galumping along, listening to psychedelic music on her headphones.

Family Fun conjures up aggressive African tribal beats, with a dissonant keyboard coming in. Nat Being has the Space Invaders beat. Looking around the room, not sure who would remember playing those in between lectures in the early eighties.

Shaken loose by the set closer, Balled. Music becomes shards of keyboards with a brutal electronic beat while vocals sound nasty. Shades of Marty Rev and Alan Vega.

A real collage of styles and influences which will attract devotees just as much as it will alienate others. Ben tells me he started as a jazz saxophonist, played with Nathan Haines in his early days. Takes a lot of inspiration from Pumice and will play a trombone later in his set.

Stefan Neville is Pumice. A self-taught musical prodigy who has been active for over 20 years. By himself, with collaborators and with other bands. Has also travelled extensively overseas playing his music. Produces graphic art magazines.

This is the first time I have seen him let alone heard about him. So, fresh ears and perspective.

Tonight, he has with him Jade Farley, who will play violin and some keyboards.

Handkerchief, the opener is a slow acoustic tune with a sparse keyboard sound reminiscent of Young Marble Giants.

Brawl starts with a beautiful acoustic guitar melody. Then atonal vocals and violin comes in. A drone rhythm puts it in Velvet Underground territory. On most of the other tunes, Jade makes her violin sound like John Cale’s viola, gothic and ominous.

The third tune is untitled. It starts with a feedback laden keyboard, and then progresses to waves of celestial chiming melodies.

Toilet comes from the toilet. Get inspiration where you can. Violin and guitar sound like the beginning of an old classic Western movie. Melodic Ry Cooder style Southern gothic swamp music until it wanders off into psychodrama and you are pitched into the Big Star Third Album.

Weird E Coughing Blood has Ben Holmes take up the trombone to help out. Dissonant guitar and horn, Captain Beefheart style drone music and some East meets West keyboard melodies.

Our Schedule ends the show. Doomy and gothic. Violin screeches like Cale. Waves of feedback like radiation. The atmosphere is bleak and slow. The final sequence of Apocalyse Now.