This piece was originally meant for publication in TODAY but due to miscommunication, it never was and so I decided to post it here on Power of Pop.
FAIRCHILD/DEON | Home Club | 3rd Jan 2014
That Singapore is now a premier regional hub for high-end music entertainment is a given. But perhaps what needs further development is for Singapore to provide an avenue for up and coming foreign bands to cut their teeth at our smaller venues so that home audiences might enjoy these performances in a more intimate setting. Bring local bands into the equation as opening acts and the opportunity for healthy cross-pollination arises which can only benefit music lovers everywhere. Thus far, the likes of Beach Fossils (USA), The Cairos (Australia) and Mac Demarco (Canada) have made their way to our smaller stages and it is a promising trend that hopefully truly takes off in the immediate future.
Certainly, this cause was aided by Gold Coast sextet Fairchild’s return to Singapore at the Home Club. Already familiar to Singapore music lovers due to an appearance at 2013′s Music Matters Live, Fairchild had little difficulty delivering an enthusiastic, bubbly set to an excited audience. Consisting of Adam Lyons (vocals), Nathan Lyons (keyboards), Tim Voeten (guitar), Patrick Huerto (guitar), Patrick Davies (Bass) & Ben Anderson (Drums), the band was fresh from performing at the MIDI Festival in Shenzen and greatly enthused by Asian audiences’ responses to their brand of indie pop. According to frontman Adam Lyons, the band does not have the desired profile in Australia and thus have been finding overseas crowds to be more accepting than Aussie ones. Ironic, when you consider that that is probably the experience of Singapore bands as well.
Opening band DEON provided excellent warm up earlier on, sharing new material that will be found on the singer-songwriter’s upcoming new album. Fair to say that the crowd numbers were a bit lacking for DEON but the band has been making some headway away from our shores as well and will be playing at this year’s Canadian Music Week, amongst others. Despite that, there was no denying the emotional impact of songs like “Little Lies” and “Wolves” and it was intriguing to hear a little bit of jazz-funk creep into some of the newer songs. Perhaps, these are universal issues for aspiring bands to face – no matter where they come from!
Casually dressed, the boys from Fairchild let the music do the talking – unassuming in demeanor but their energetic, joyous, edgy indie pop more than made up for this. Songs like “Burning Feet”, “Dancer”, “Arcadia”, “Villages” and “Figure It Out” had the audience head bopping, swaying and moving their feet. Older music listeners might recognize the references to post-punk figures like XTC, Wire and Talking Heads (Adam Lyons – “We’re never heard them before!”) but in all probability the influences of Franz Ferdinand, Vampire Weekend, The Shins, Temper Trap etc have greater impact. Ignoring this trainspotting tendency, it’s plain that the appeal of Fairchild’s music is rooted in their memorable melodies, dance rhythms and distinctive sense of fun. Nothing heavy about any of their sonic or lyrical concepts, it’s all about escaping the drudgery of daily life and shooting for the stars.
And why not?
