Live Music: Cloud Control, The Zoo
Words: Clare Kempnich
Pictures: Kate Scantleton
Saturday, June 12
Cloud Control have been getting lots of airtime recently on JJJ due to the recent success of song, “This is What I Said”. I’ve got to say, it’s catchy and I like that, but I worry that they’re the kind of band that we’re quickly going to forget about in six months time. Needless to say, I was excited to see them play at The Zoo one June 12 to see if they had what it would take to go the distance.
The band – Alister Wright (vocals/guitar), Heidi Lenffer (keys/vocals), Ulrich Lenffer (drums) and Jeremy Kelshaw (bass) – gained some recognition on the Sydney local circuit before being featured on JJJ’s Unearthed. Recently, they were the JJJ album of the week (with Bliss Release) and they are now set to play with a massive line-up at this year’s Splendour in the Grass.
They list Fleetwood Mac as one of their biggest influences, and I’ve got to say, they honour them well. Beautiful melodies are the centrepiece of Cloud Control songs, and the jangly-guitar-and-rhythm combination makes their album so easy to listen to. They seem to have a well-established fan base here in Brisbane, and they were out in force at The Zoo ready to dance their way through the track listing of the band’s debut EP. Crowd favourites were their very danceable This Is What I Said and Gold Canary, although to be honest, the entire set was one great track after another. Their boppy tunes have done them justice in the mass-following that is trailing behind them at every gig.
Local support acts Ball Park Music were perhaps the perfect interlude to the easy-listening nature of Cloud Control; but I have to say that second support Richard in My Mind was more of a dampener than a crowd-pleaser. To summarise the set, it just left you feeling good all over. They have a well-established style and it was good to see that the rest of the album was in the same vain as their better-known tracks. Overall, I was impressed with Cloud Control – they love what they’re doing and that’s good enough for me.
The band is about to embark on a tour of the UK and I’m sure that their music will be as well received as it has been by Australian fans. If you love supporting our home-grown talent and were lucky enough to get a ticket to Splendour in the Grass, make sure you highlight Cloud Control on your timetable because they certainly aren’t one to miss.