Anna O

The Four5Nine Bar in The Rosemount Hotel was packed quickly by punters for a sold-out performance by up and coming local singer/songwriter Anna O launching of her debut EP, When The Winter Came. After a short DJ set, drummer Nathan Woodward made his way out onto the small red-lit stage before the packed venue while the vocal riff from Sleepless started out over the speakers. Woodward kicked into the familiar drum pattern of the song before Anna O and the rest of the band came out to a huge cheer from the audience. New song Fast Forward followed, with big buzzing bass sounds and reggae-style guitar chops reminiscent of James Blake. “So I just wanted to say thank you all so much for being here at my EP launch and thanks for selling it out,” said Anna, clearly enamoured by the crowd.

After another new song, Night Light, Anna and the band went through a rockier version of EP song Gravity, which featured a great guitar solo from Simeon Nelson who swapped between guitars and synths for parts of each song. “We’re going to take it down a little bit now,” said Anna before she slipped in a stripped-back cover of Avicii’s Addicted To You, giving Adele a run for her money. The end of the song segued into EP ballad, For You, which followed the stripped-back vibe of the set and featured great vocals by Anna. Hibernation, which Anna announced as the latest single that night, kicked the energy levels back up before her and the band got the audience moving with the more dance-inspired Fan Fare to a great final cheer from the crowd, capping off an impressive set and a successful live debut for this talented artist.

Written by Scott Aitken - The Music

Leure kicked things off on the warm Saturday night to a practically empty room. A shame, as her hypnotic vocals and bass-heavy beats made for a strong and enjoyable performance. Attendance hadn’t really picked up much by the time Anna O and her band took to the stage, but she enticed patrons to make their way inside with some incredibly catchy pop-rock hits. New single Sleepless was a huge highlight of the set, while the cover of Avicii’s Addicted To You had the audience swooning. The set featured plenty of variety – O and the band would climb up to explosive highs with their energy levels, before dipping down and stripping back with something a little slower. The audience was given an instrumental feast, with catchy guitar hooks, ‘80s synth wash-overs, and even elements of funk by way of some awesome bass lines filling out the room, while Anna managed to show off her fantastic vocal ability from strong mid-range vocal lines to soaring and crisp top-end explosions of splendour. All up, the group set the scene perfectly for the heavily anticipated headliner.

A short break later, and it was finally time for Thief to grace the stage. He did so in fine fashion, launching straight into it with some incredibly catchy beats and bringing into the room a horde of punters in the process. The buzz around the room reached a new level as he reached Closer - the title track from his new EP – which incorporated intricate synth melodies and a super groovy disco styling in the vocal delivery which got the crowd moving for the first time that night. What sets Thief apart from similar artists is that despite his heavy use of synth, he has the ability to transition between drawn-out, measured sounds and short, sharp beats, all the while managing to keep his work sounding slick and polished. The performance never felt like dragging, nor did anyone feel like they were losing focus amidst the electronica. Thief ended the set in style, bringing out his arguably biggest and catchiest hit to date in Broken Boy, which produced the biggest reaction from the crowd that night. The show ended on a high for the audience, and given the calibre of the performance, Thief should be feeling the same way as he finishes off his tour. - The Music Perth

Off the back of a sold-out album launch, Perth’s Anna O hit YaYa’s with no loss of momentum. The brainchild of singer songwriter Anna O’Neil, this act put out a sound that is almost impossible to find elsewhere in the city of Perth.

The slightly melancholic, down-tempo jams were given immense energy by the powerful pipes of the lead singer and were backed by perfect instrumentation from the multi-talented band who worked off each other fluidly and with dispositions that could make a polar bear jealous. As a counterpoint to these more thoughtful movements, tracks with heavy, syncopated drums gave ample headroom for Anna’s voice to explore the register as she ebbed from strong mid-range vocal lines to soaring and crisp top end explosions of beauty.

Throughout the performance, the sound maintained a lush thickness through subtle use of effects and some creative solos from the lead guitarist, his fingers moving fast over the fretboard while the bassist laid down some utterly funky business. Anna O are definitely reminiscent of some of the best parts of the world musical history as bright, ’80s synths washed over the room. In an expression of versatility, there was a definite undertone of ’90s trip hop as heavy bass combined with Anna’s soulful vocal style, reminiscent of Portishead.

As if any more boxes could be ticked, a funky disco number actually shook the crowd out of their Thursday night reverie and got feet meeting the floor in new and exciting ways. It was probably naïve of me to believe that this sort of unique music didn’t exist in a town currently fixated on bands with that Indie sound, but the surprise was incredibly pleasant. There’s nothing more that could be said that isn’t said better by the music itself. For a glimpse into the variety of talent lying in wait for your ears this city, look no further than Anna O.

James Hanlon - Xpress Magazine