Hotel Wreck N’ Roll Club | Indian Ocean Hotel | 24/08/2019

Pheadra Photography

Saturday saw an absolutely jam packed evening of bands down at the Indian Ocean Hotel. With a staggering 6 bands on the lineup for the night there was something for everybody. Mossy Fogg, The Plastic Armada, Sand Casino, The Slack Keys, Reins, Otiuh and Young Robin.

Starting us off were retro-rockers The Plastic Armada. They provided a nice burst of energy to get the night started, with an 80s/90s vibe audible in their guitar work they created a nice atmosphere instantly while Indi Bar legend Mossy Fogg blessed us solo with his unique and captivating signature growl in-between sets throughout the night. 

Following them up were the manic stylings of Sand Casino. Coming through with some very energetic aussie-punk tracks on a broad range of relatable topics, Sand Casino really delivered on the vibe they promised. Couple with their music was their hilarious stage presence, with their frontman delivering some top-notch banter.

3rd for the night were The Slack Keys. Much like their namesake The Black Keys, they have a strong focus on very groovy reggae style bass guitar, and pair it with some absolute shredding guitar. With a strong vocal performance including some on the spot lyric work, The Slack Keys put on a good show, big props to their keyboard player as well who did an exceptional job playing with the band for the second time. 

Slowing down the tempo a bit for the fourth act was Reins. Putting down some mellow acoustic guitar focused alt-rock, Reins was very reminiscent of acts like Matt Corby, with his strong gravelly vocals and driving drums. He switched it up for his last two songs going to just a solo guitar and vocals for some nice downtempo chilled out vibes as well.

Next up were hip-hop duo Otiuh, who really brought the party energy to the venue. Their full 6 man band included one of the best unrepresented instruments in the bongos (which instantly gets full marks from me). On top of that they also had a very tight rhythm section laying down some sick grooves, and the guitar work was top-notch too. Of course the main draw was the duo themselves, both rapping and playing off each other, Otiuh had a really good flow and balance in their songs. Make sure you catch them if you can, these boys are putting out some special stuff.

And finally our headliner for the night took the stage, local indie pop-rock legends Young Robin. As always the boys put on a stellar show, putting out their good party vibes that are always sure to get a room going. The contrasting delay heavy guitars and high energy vocals work together really well with their driving drums and bass to create a groove that you can't help but dance to. Young Robin graced us with one of their newer tracks which doesn’t have a name yet, but was another excellent addition to their already stacked lineup of bangers. Young Robin are going to be launching their newest single at Jack Rabbit Slims on Saturday September 28th, which is going to be an excellent show and not to be missed.


Reviewer - Gerard Kinsella