Place of Indigo

Place of Indigo could be on the verge of becoming Perth’s latest indie rock sensation.

A guitar-and-keys four piece with no bass player, they’re led by a downbeat, messianic one-off, giving them enough sonic novelty (and an eye-candy factor) to be a step ahead before their songs even enter the equation. These three tracks need no props though; with any more melodic hookery they’d cross the line into full-blown commercial appeal. If a deft arranger / producer got their greedy mitts on either Smile Nice or Walk Away, then Place of Indigo could be a minimum one-hit wonder.

Even on this demo – which isn’t slouchy – their sound is wholly of-the-moment (read: pure 1980s) and more or less fully formed. Anchored by panned-out guitars that mix glossy-clean picking with overdriven counter-stabs and velvety power chords, the songs sit on ultra-sweet keyboard beds and barely organic drums.

It’s a mix tailor-made for the soporific vocals of Sam Joyce, who appears to be the band’s greatest blessing and biggest potential limitation. The Joyce voice may not be versatile, but is instantly recognisable: a low, detached and accurate no-frills rendering of his spot-on melodic, rhythmic and lyrical instincts.

But to put its strengths aside, what this taster disc shows is that Place of Indigo need to be all about editing. A track like Walk Away needs some serious hacking to realise its obvious and mighty hit potential. It could easily lose a few blank verses and chorus repeats. The fade-out has more joyous intensity than anything in the minute before it, but brainless radio programmers and jocks would trample over the top of it (or cut it back at the three-minute mark) and music lovers would miss all the action.

The darkest and most indie track here, the disc’s opener Torture, could also stand some trimming in the mid-section, but not urgently. Others need a little less work. Smile Nice reads like a soundtrack hit from a lost John Hughes classic, bordering on 1980s pop perfection. Its guitar parts are faultless in context, the keyboards are lush and the lyrics couldn’t serve their purpose any better.

Each player in Place of Indigo writes and blends their parts with taste and timing; if they can attack their arrangements mercilessly, then there won’t be much to hold them back in terms of songcraft.

With this demo being as it is, their first EP proper might be a monster if they can tighten things a little. - Fasterlouder.com.au