GOMA Up Late has been a fixture on the Brisbane live music scene for several years now and is pretty much always a top night out. It’s especially great for getting a group of friends together. You can enjoy a meal, check out the latest exhibit, and then receive the bonus of a live musical act.

Tonight that musical act is Teeth & Tongue, and the crowd assembled stare patiently at a stage filled with instrumentation. The last time Teeth and Tongue played it was Jess Cornelius solo, so it’s great we get to witness the whole package this time around. Once started, the full collective work through material mainly from the latest album Give Up On Your Health, starting with the excellent Do Harm and When We Met, ending with Your Ghost Is The Hardest To Kill, and the sublime Turn, Turn, Turn. There are some sprinklings from other albums Grids, and Tambourine, but it’s mostly about the latest album. In fact, it totally serves as the Brisbane album launch of Give Up On Your Health.

What really comes to the fore in this performance is this latest strain of pop sensibility from Cornelius. The darkness is still there but it’s now offset by some fairly upbeat pop tuneage. It’s a great balance. Possibly underpinning this sound is the fact that the drums are essentially electronic bar some toms. It essentially sets the platform for all the sounds on top, the synths, bass and guitars. For some reason Patti Smith and Kim Wilde come to mind throughout, but these references aren’t definitive. Perhaps it’s in the brilliant way Cornelius dances the whole set in gold vinyl pants? Of all the new material, the ‘New Wave’ fervour of Dianne is the perfect embodiment, and when it arrives roughly two thirds into the set the band play like it’s the breaking single. Moments such as this and on the final two numbers Your Ghost is The Hardest To Kill and Turn Turn Turn reveal the band playing like they have some winning material on offer, and the musicianship is high. A band enjoying what they’re doing too, is always fantastic to witness.

As a testament to a fine performance, the merch table is bubbling over nicely at the end. Cornelius and band should be pretty happy where they’re at right now as a group. It would be great to catch Teeth and Tongue in a more intimate club/bar setting the next time around, with the beats pumping. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.

- Ian Powne