Project Description

TIRED LION

@ HYPERFEST

Midland Oval 24/2/18 (Live Review)    

Review by Vicky Hebbs

.

Tired Lion

.

.

After six hours in the sun, the Hyperfest crowd are clearly more than a little sleepy. Yet when 90’s style alt-rockers Tired Lion come onstage, the mood quickly elevates.

After blasting their tunes on Triple J, I knew Tired Lion would be intense, but the energy that front woman Sophie Hopes brings to her performance cannot be captured in a recording. One song into the set and she is already dripping with sweat.

With Where were you?  from their recent debut album, Dumb Days, all sleepiness dissipates and there isn’t a single person immune to the pull of the music. The heightened energy continues with Camp, when halfway through the song a blast of confetti sprays the energised crowd.

.

Tired Lion

.

Dumb Days is Tired Lion’s evolution from teen angst grunge into a sound that captures the late teens to early adulthood transition. Songs like Fresh encapsulate a time when you have enough lazy Sunday afternoons and crazy nights out behind you to feel nostalgic but the exciting promise of an unknown future lies ahead.

Many of the songs are a little quicker in tempo and have more of an indie feel than their previous work, yet there are always moments to remind you Tired Lion are first and foremost a rock band, especially when drummer Ethan Darnell and lead guitar Matt Tanner bring a furious energy to songs like Japan and crowd favourite I Don’t Think You Like Me

Single Agoraphobia takes it up a notch with heavy guitar riffs and an uninhibited drum beat. The song showcases Hope’s fearlessly raw, yet never grating, vocals and her electrifying stage presence. I am sure it isn’t only me who feels a strong desire to head bang with the band.

.

.

By the time they play their album’s title track, Dumb Days, Hopes has the crowd completely immersed. We sing along with her, although sometimes in what Hopes jokes is “that festival murmur” when you don’t quite know what the lyrics actually are but try to sing along anyway.

She belts out her powerful voice one last time on their album’s title track Cinderella Dracula, rounding off a powerful set that has convinced me Tired Lion are a band with so much yet to offer to their already impressive back catalogue.

.

Follow TIRED LION

.

.

AMNPLIFY – ET