For me this year Bigsound Live 2016 kicked off over at the New Globe Theatre with Unity Floors. The Sydney duo open with the ode Moving to Melbourne to maybe 30 people in the room. As a two piece they really didn’t have anywhere to hide, with only pounding drums and lo-fi jangly guitar to work with. Luckily this in combination with the honest, small truths approach to their lyrics it works really well for them.

Thigh Master were up next, featuring tight rhythms, dissonant guitars and ragged urgent vocals. Singer Matthew Ford made a dig at Triple J Unearthed for calling them a new band and saying their single Control is new when they've been a band and been playing that song live for about 4 years already and cracked a joke about being scouted by Michael Chug and touring with the Black Keys next year. All in all, it was a tight set and a very good show and a lot of fun.

I really only got to catch three songs from Flowertruck before I had to move on to the next band. The few songs I heard were a lot of fun and their stage presence was infectious. Lead singer Charles Rushforth sort of reminds me of David Byrne, a careening, slightly bug-eyed ball of energy. They had obviously received a lot of hype as the room quickly filled with industry folk who were even as I walked back down the hill from the New Globe Theatre were still streaming past me steadily towards the venue.

Next I wandered over to the Woolly Mammoth to see Major Leagues who were a last minute replacement for Forevr who had to pull out of Bigsound for personal reasons. Their set was littered with songs from their most recent EP Dream States and really showed off why with their great melodies, catchy riffs, and slacker indie pop charms, they were such a fan favourite from last year. Having caught a number of Major Leagues shows over the last few years I felt like this was one of their best yet.

Having wandered around to a few different venues at this point and gotten bored of the spattering of music I had heard coming out of these different venues pretty quickly, I decided after overhearing a few people I had passed by recommend checking out HABITS at Heya Bar that I’d go see what all the fuss was about. I am glad that I did. It was amazing and while I am still not really sure what I had witnessed I really enjoyed their unique dark, rave-y synth pop. It was probably the best show I had seen all night and I definitely recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance.

Last up for the evening was Sydney based producer and singer Rainbow Chan with her new live band. Singing about failed romance and featuring stunning vocals, surrounded by a mix of samples, synth and unusual beats but still reminiscent of mid 90s pop and RnB. It was a great way to cap off a fantastic night!

- Jasmine Darlington-Reilly