julian matthews

 
_{Murray Bennett photo.}

The Stems
+ New Christs
Manning Bar, Sydney
Saturday, August 30, 2024
Photos: Tony McNamara unless otherwisde credited.

Shows by The Stems are reverential experiences, And for good reason. The band’s membership is scattered over two coasts of Australia and gigs don’t occur often. When they do, you know they're going to be something worth bottling.

What’s the special sauce? It’s Dom Mariani’s timeless pop songs being delivered by top-shelf players who have a chemistry that can only come from most of them playing together for years.

The foundation is Mariani on guitar and vocals, drummer Dave Shaw and bassist Julian Matthews, with a guitar foil of Ash Naylor(this tour) or Davey Lane, who are both ubiquitous and gifted in equal measures.

As far as recordings go, The Stems have not been prolific, with just two full-length studio albums since 1987, so it’s all about the quality and not the length. Their first LP, “At First Sight Violets Are Blue”, was a fully formed pop classic, and the 2007 “follow-up”, “Heads Up”, was substantial in its own right, although is not as well-known.

With more twang than you can poke a tuning fork at and a vibe that’s positively from the ’50s, this modest little vinyl EP from a Melbourne band is a bona fide gem. Three of the four songs are instrumentals but, unusually for that sort of music, with no surfboards overtly in sight.

It’s valve amp retro rock that draws its inspiration from the pre-surf era of guitar-driven popular music. With Julian Matthews (Stems bassist and also in The Level Spirits) the “star turn” who’s something of a guitar master these days, The Vibrajets embrace the old with a dynanism that steers clear of this ever being authentic for authenticity’s sake.

“Rock til the End of Time” gives rhythm guitarist Sammy-Lee Croissant her time at the mic with a vocal that’s straight out of The Wanda Jackson School. The guitars get up and dance on “33 Errol Street” and while “Petrol Fumes” is a straight-up rocker, “Steak & Eggs” belies its name and is a vibrato monster.

Shake down The Vibrajets on Facebook if you want a mail order copy or hassle them at a show. Reckon Off The Hip would be the right retail place to ask about it in Melbourne if bricks and mortar is your thing.