Belles Will Ring : Northcote Social Club

By Chris Wood

Belles Will Ring

The lights were on and the stage was appropriately set.

After a week full of devil horn hand gesturing coming to a close, the pinnacle of which was the highly anticipated Soundwave Festival, I felt it befitting to celebrate by taking a trip to the heart and soul of Melbourne's music scene - the Northcote Social Club - to see the Blue Mountains up and coming psychedelic folk kids, Belles Will Ring.

Although it had almost nothing to do with the performance, or anything else for that matter, I couldn't help but notice that lead singer Liam Judson was sporting a hairdo that made him appear remarkably similar to Nigel Tufnell from Spinal Tap.

I'm not too sure about how intentional this uncanny likeness was, if at all.

Needless to say, being a huge Spinal Tap fan I spent a large part of the gig with various scenes from the movie playing in my head.

Lucky for them, we didn't bear witness to any Spinal Tap tomfoolery.

Playing to a modest yet healthy crowd, Belles Will Ring opened up with the hauntingly omni-present I'm Walking Here.

Daring as it was to start with such a delicately framed song, it ultimately proved to be a less than appropriate choice, given that the lads never seemed to fully recover, or engage the audience for more than momentary guitar weg-out.

I'm willingly opening myself up for correction and / or criticism here, but I can't help but feel that had Belles Will Ring opened up with something slightly more engaging, the entire show would have appeared a lot different from the audience's perspective.

The delightfully quirky Renegades showcase the band at their best.

Perhaps this was the track they needed to hook the audience with in the beginning. Regardless of set positioning, this song was always going to strike a chord with the calm, yet appreciative audience.

During this, they showed moments of unparalleled sonic brilliance and unabashed raw enthusiasm.

However, these moments were too few.

One of the more endearing thing about these guys is how musically adept they are, seemingly so early in their career.

Coupled with their incredible harmonies, the complexity and thoroughness within the structure of their songs puts them in the same category as well seasoned Australian folk rockers Augie March, while their stunning vocal harmonies hark back to the late 1960s psychedelic mayhem, often occasionally channeling pop groups like The Searchers, Mamas and the Papas and Gerry & The Pacemakers.

The show as a whole was in no way a disaster. They have the foundations for an exhilarating live experience, yet something was amiss.

Whether it was down to song choice, sound issues or simply just lack of numbers to create more buzz for the band to feed off, there was something slightly jarring.

It was this incompleteness that inhibited the highly sought after transcendental rock moment: that one moment where everything in the world is in unison. That one aurally defined moment where all that was unclear, is now translucent.

Questions are answered and problems shift into perspective.

That visceral clutch that lulls your body into a state of musical intoxication was sadly not there on the night.

However, Belles Will Ring have a lyrical dexterity and competence for song arrangement that indicates experience way beyond their years in age.

It may just be a case of lacking a few high-end numbers to strengthen their set.

Whatever the reason, Belles Will Ring are still in the formative years, and given enough time, will hopefully develop into an exciting Australian musical outfit.