The Beautiful Girls
Metro Theatre
Sydney, Australia
December 16, 2017
Founded in 2002, Australian trio The Beautiful Girls started their career based on a sound foundation of reggae and surf rock, with cemented via their debut release Morning Sun became their signature style.
Their first full-length album, Learn Yourself, followed a year later and ascended to top the independent charts down under, without moving an inch for months.
What followed was a trajectory that saw the band successfully infiltrate the mainstream with a number of accolades and chart hits paving the way.
Tonight was going to be a celebration of their classic, early tunes along with their and their audience’s other faves from their extensive catalogue.
The band’s summery dub, charming melodies have not inaccurately been described as "raw, spooky, rootsy, punky, reggae" and they are certainly influenced by the finer aspects of dancehall and rocksteady.
What complements the mélange is the chilled, laid-back vocal delivery of front man and main songwriter Mat McHugh, who was warmly welcomed by an eclectic audience that was comprised of the young surfy types to quite a few middle aged followers.
Tracks from their recent full-length emission were a particular stand out part of the performance and it felt that instead of playing the songs in chronological order, track order or anything, the set felt chosen based on the feeling of the night, which gave it the added appeal of spontaneity.
It was good to see that The Beautiful Girls have retained their DNA yet have emancipated themselves from being considered mere Jack Johnson and Ben Harper epigones.
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Photos by KAVV
