Solkyri “Are You My Brother?” tour + Supports

Bands: Solkyri, Treebeard, hubris., Myriad Drone
Venue: Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 24 / 11 / 2023

Review by Ziggy Thunders
Photos by Dave Collopy

It was an eventful night for the post rock scene at the Northcote Social Club, with an incredible lineup of bands and celebrations of new records, old records, anniversaries and things to come all thanks to Birdsrobe.

Myriad Drone

First up onstage are Melbourne locals and Christchurch NZ transplants Myriad Drone, a four piece post metal band. They set the tone for the evening by delivering peaks and valleys of gentle, flowing melodies and relentless black metal influenced moments.
With recent addition Hayley De Kruiff on the drums, Myriad Drone sent the audience into a trance as they kicked off their set with a beautiful collage of soaring melodies, heavy drums and rumbling bass. This evolved into heavier sections with charged riffs and gorgeous vocals delivered over the wall of sound, creating a nostalgic atmosphere that transported the listener to another world.
These themes continued through Myriad Drone’s set, as the audience swayed and the tunes carried on, constantly changing with intensity from delicate, somber breaks to powerful orchestral sounding arrangements.
Myriad Drone have recently released a remastered version of their debut record, Arka Morgana. If you want to go on one hell of an aural journey, I highly recommend checking it out.

hubris.

All the way from Switzerland, four piece post-rock band hubris. took the stage.

hubris. created a brilliant, shimmering atmosphere with the use of layered guitars that glistened, thick and defined bass lines paired with full, rich drums. The addition of synth in the background brought a dreamlike sense to their sound, as their gorgeous instrumental arrangements wavered between a comfortable nostalgia and hopeful soaring moments.
Their chemistry was infectious as they swayed and headbanged in perfect unison on stage, which led to the audience following suit and letting the music carry them away. Perfectly in sync in all aspects, their musicianship was something to note as their immaculately timed stops left the audience in awe.
A personal stand out for me was the track Of Light, led by a devastatingly beautiful guitar melody that reminded me of David Gilmour’s ability to emotionally cripple the listener with just a few notes. With moments of rhythmic guitar like clockwork and giant dramatic chords, drums that had orchestral qualities that built up at the perfect times and solid bass lines that sat flawlessly with the drums – all of this created a truly memorable performance of a truly beautiful song.

Go listen to their new record The One Above and keep an eye out for when they return to our shores.

Solkyri

Third act for the night are Solkyri, a four piece post rock band from Sydney, celebrating the tenth anniversary of their record Are You My Brother?

Solkyri pulled the audience into a delicate state of mind with whimsical chiming melodies that conjured up a childlike wonder, grand orchestral moments that swelled into driving guitar riffs, pounding, frenetic drums and dynamic, high energy bass. They swayed between more mellow moments and a chaotic punk energy that seeped in throughout their set, showing off their musical capabilities in all forms.
As they progressed through their set they took us on a journey revisiting songs from their discography, giving us a taste of everything they have to offer as well as debuting a new song which hints at things to come.
They played with an incredible, electric energy that radiated through the audience, with people waving their hands as though they were conducting an orchestra and hair flying everywhere in the pit. You could tell that Solkyri were having the time of their lives on the stage celebrating their music with an equally enthusiastic audience.
With so much emotion behind every track, Solkyri really know how to structure a song that will conjure up heartfelt moments, but also make you want to dance and headbang like no one’s watching.

Solkyri will be playing another Are You My Brother? anniversary show in Sydney at The Vanguard on the 26th of November.

Treebeard

Closing for the night are Melbourne based post rock quartet, Treebeard, celebrating the two year anniversary of Nostalgia and the release of their new single, Great White.

A pulsating drone with a clean nostalgic melody filled the room, disrupted by musical hits that would scare the shit out of you if you weren’t expecting it. The atmosphere had been set as Treebeard propelled us into a journey to the Great White. As they announced the new song, an audience member screamed out ‘it’s a banger’, and rightly so. Great White is a banger, with a biting riff that conveys a particular sense of dread, combined with perfectly timed stops to come up for air before being plunged right back into the depths. A calm flowing guitar melody breaks through, with a steady bass and drum line providing a solid anchor to ground us. A delicious drum groove break backed by guitars appears halfway through the song, before it all comes crashing down again. These alternating states work together to lead us to an intense musical build up, with alarming guitars and rolling drums that drops off, creating a sense of relief as the song comes to an end.
Treebeard performed another new song, Incognita, a big lumbering beat of a song with massive chords, thunderous bass, slow relaxed drums until the climax hits paired with beautiful lead guitars interwoven throughout the main riffs.
Their set ended with a performance of The Ratcatcher, starting off with ethereal vocal harmonies leading us into a reflective trance. A clean guitar melody flows underneath a melancholic vocal delivery with drums and bass that build in intensity as the song continues. You could see the hair flying in the audience as the crowd let loose at the end of the song, an aggressive end with a punchy riff, powerful drum hits and roaring bass – they ended an incredible night on an incredible note.

Treebeard will be playing with Solkyri in Sydney at The Vanguard on the 26th of November, which will be their final show of the year.