Project Description

LANKS

@ BLACK BEAR LODGE

09/08/18

(Live Review)

Review By: Alexandra Ainsworth

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Indie-electro multi-instrumentalist Will Cuming, who performs under the moniker LANKS, has been taking his debut record twentyseven around the country. Catching his Brisbane leg of the tour, fans were greeted with stunning vocals, dynamic instrumentals, and the reenactment of a painfully sweet proposal.

The set begins with title track twentyseven, the song’s opening drum beat an official invitation for the tipsy crowd to move around the floor. There’s an instant energy that runs from Lanks and his three-piece band through the room, the top of Cuming’s mop near-grazing the ceiling of the Black Bear Lodge as he pounces around the stage. The focus of the set is clearly the debut album, but within it is a colourful array of sounds that often transcend genres and defies expectations for an artist so criminally undiscovered. twentyseven, in essence, is an exploratory journey that delves into expectations and realities through earworm choruses and intricate instrumentals. Experiencing LANKS’ writing and producing in a live setting brings to life Cuming’s navigation through his highs and lows as though they were your own.

Half-way through the set, LANKS brings out Brisbane singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow. The two co-wrote Gostelow’s Strangers, and they perform the nostalgia-soaked duet as a silent crowd look on in pure admiration. While the melody is sonically Cuming’s, it’s Gostelow’s voice that steals the show for her moment on stage. It commands attention without being pretentious, and contrasted against LANKS’ own vocals is the type of moreish that feels wildly unhealthy.

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Among the welcome surprises is LANKS’ recent cover of Hayden James’ Numb, the band’s recent cover for Triple J’s Like A Version. The track is a chance for Cuming to show off his intricate riffs, as well as his bandmate (and sister/manager) to whip out the trombone to add more depth than James’ managed to achieve in his own track.

The set ends with the same track the record finishes with: Icarus. It’s a momentous conclusion, the song being Cuming’s proposal to his wife. In lieu of the choir on the record, the crowd is tasked with singing the simple yet sweet backing lines of the song as LANKS’ coos the question. It’s almost disgustingly sweet, but it makes even the most bitter of us melt a little inside.

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AMNPLIFY – DB