The boys from Kingswood have been busy – and it looks like their hard work is about to pay off. After their knockout Splendour in the Grass performance and the recent release of their debut album, Microscopic Wars, the Melbourne four piece, band featuring vocalist Fergus Linacre, guitarist Alex Laska, bassist Mango Hunter and drummer Justin Debrincat have gone from strength to strength.
Having set out to play a string of sold out shows across the country, their hometown performance at Howler on a cool Friday night left no question as to why the indie rockers have received such rave reviews – there’s simply no mistaking talent.
The crowd were ready and raring after a killer opening set by three piece, The Sinking Teeth, another Melbourne band who are supporting Kingswood nation wide on their three month long tour – these guys are ones to watch.
The bearded band members of Kingswood stepped out onto the stage in rock-star style accompanied by a bit of Jay-Z ’99 Problems’ entrance music. Getting straight into it like a good rock show should, they kicked off with hits off the new album ‘All Too Much’, ‘She’s My Baby’ and ‘Suckerpunch’, all with a flurry of head banging and hair flipping, and unfaltering energy.
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We can’t image the enthusiasm Kingswood band members showed on stage would be too hard for the boys to muster on this particular night, having just received word that new album Microscopic Wars had made it to the top 10 on the Aria Albums Chart. Their excitement was obvious, and so too was their appreciation and gratitude to their fans.
An impressive feat for any band in the early stages of their career (albeit an unsurprising one for anyone who has been following this particular band’s recent, rapid progress), Microscopic Wars has been not unduly touted the most hotly anticipated Australian album of the year and this news serves as confirmation that yes, Kingswood are well and truly on their way.
Having received bountiful support from Triple J along the road, it was only fitting that their sold out hometown gig was recorded for Triple J’s Live at the Wireless, a long standing tradition of the radio station for bands making it big.
As winners of the coveted Triple J Unearthed competition back in 2012, Kingswood secured themselves of spot on that year’s Splendour In the Grass line up. This exposure was crucial to Kingswood’s development, and the band soon set out on a national Australian tour with Grinspoon, and played alongside the likes of Aerosmith, The Living End and British India, as well as a whole host of major festivals.
Fittingly, during the set they played their Triple J Like a Version cover – a stirring rendition of First Aid Kit’s ‘Wolf’. Other crowd favorites were hits like the bluesy, soulful ‘ICFTYDLM’ (I Can Feel That You Don’t Love Me), the strong rock’n’roll calls of ‘Yeah Go Die’, the first single to be played on Triple J and earn the band the recognition they deserved, as well as power ballad ‘Micro Wars’, the title track of the new album, and the one we predict to be the next big hit in a series of many.
Wrapping up the night with an exuberant, interactive performance of old favourite ‘Ohio’ from the Change of Heart mini album released in 2013, Kingswood have set the bar exceptionally high. The national tour continues for another two months playing a series of metropolitan and regional shows, but we doubt it will be long before we see these boys booking out the big name venues in capital cities across the country.
Check out the full gallery from the show here.
