Planet Love Sound

The Grunge Safari, Tehachapi, Planet Love Sound, Batterie
FBi Social, Kings Cross Hotel
Friday June 22

It’s no surprise that Constantine and Tina – lead singers of Tehachapi and Planet Love Sound respectively – are related: both have a lust for spectacle and an undeniable talent for generating atmosphere. The two Melbourne bands showed up at FBi Social armed with a shitload of effects pedals and stylishly dishevelled op-shop shirts, even bringing with them a projectionist to soak the venue in Mogwai-meets-Mazzy-Star ambience.

Following local support Batterie’s impressive one-man rendition of Battles-esque math rock, Planet Love Sound took to the stage in a wash of jangly tremolo and confronting Fever Ray-style vocals. The crowd was noticeably captivated by Tina’s performance: she writhes almost epileptic against the mic stand in a display that would be uncomfortable if it weren’t so intoxicating. The band recently scored supports with the likes of Holy Fuck and Warpaint in Europe, and if you’ve seen them live, you’ll understand why. Their recordings don’t nearly do justice to their ethereal melodies, frenetic guitar solos and grounding rhythm section, which are driven by booming toms and cerebral basslines.

Tehachapi’s psychedelic post rock, with its lush guitar tones and reverb-dripping vocals, flowed on seamlessly from PLS’ set. The songs were spacious and evocative, and though long, they seemed to build and swell rather than peter out. Constantine’s midrange vocals were moody and dead on, somewhat reminiscent of PVT circa-Church With No Magic. They also did an endearing cover of Radiohead’s ‘Last Flowers’, sung by the charming drummer Laura, which probably helped to win me over.

In fact, I was a little disappointed when Tehachapi cut their set short to make way for The Grunge Safari, the headline act comprised of all members of the two prior bands. The eight of them squeezed onto the stage and although the songs were reasonably tight, I had a sense that as with most improvised/jam performances, the musicians were enjoying playing their gypsy-inspired version of The Velvet Underground more than we who had to endure it…

Dijana Kumurdian - The Brag Magazine

Planet Love Sound - My Shadow. The sound? Kinda beautiful and fragile both. Like the chaotic madness of the video images, its self-contained nature and feeling that it's a thing onto itself. Each dancer lost in his or her own self-expression. Haven't seen any dance in a while, and the sound and the video remind me of all that I've been missing.

Who are Planet Love Sound? A Melbourne-based psychedelic/experimental pop act who've been fine-tuning their music in Berlin, Germany for the past two years. Their new EP 'Part 1' offers up a taste of what they've been working on. - Black Thought BLOG

With a complex story comes a complex sound
Ex-Dukes Of Windsor boys Joe Franklin and Oscar Dawson teamed up with Tina Stefanou to create the Melbourne-founded, Berlin-based noise pop outfit known as Planet Love Sound. Difficult introductions aside, their debut EP is a monumental construction. Dominated by thickly layered atmospheric sections, the band pounds out a unique sound that contains ethereal tones alongside electronic industrial rock. Stefanou is a real treat; she harmonises like Florence Welch but with the lower register of someone like Lisa Mitchell, and her vocals bring a real depth of emotion to proceedings. Shifting the tempo on Nothing Lasts, the industrial influence winds back to make way for a folksier dynamic that contrasts well with the heavier tracks. The title song remains the real diamond of the release though. With delicate kick drum stumbling over jarring soft rock riffs, it generates and defines the soul-tearingly labyrinthine sound that characterises the EP. - Pete Walsh - Rave Magazine

Shadows are one of those natural sources of wonder for curious creative souls. Like the horizon, ocean tides, moonlight and morning frost, shadows seem to have an inexhaustible supply of poetic beauty and inspiration. Of course, with this comes the danger of dilution through overuse: these innocent mysteries of nature often become the crux of cringe-worthy clichés. It is refreshing, then, to stumble upon artists who use them in a meaningful way: something that adds to the intrigue of the shadow, rather than relying on it to convey its own tired symbolism.

Evidently, Melbourne’s Planet Love Sound admire shadows as much as I do. Their new single ‘My Shadow’ is raw and brooding, foreboding and full of darkness. The accompanying video experiments with movement and lighting in both natural and unnatural ways: Dancers switch between flowing, natural stretches and sharp choreographed steps. Swirls of smoke are trapped in artificial beams of light. Faces, though still, are morphed with the movement of shadows.

Perhaps my inner poet is getting a little overexcited here. (I have always been a bit obsessed with shadow puppets…) But have a look for yourself: tell me this doesn’t make you want to stand in front of a wall, slowly curling your wrists and waving your limbs about, attempting to make your shadow look as beautiful as these dancers’… IS THAT JUST ME?! - FBI radio