Major at the Excelsior, Surry Hills, 31 January
Major are very tight musically, energetic, write good songs, but somehow still don’t quite cut it. There’s something missing.
Very much in the mould of You Am I, they deliver driving, energetic pop with a strong guitar attack and a bit of three-part harmony.
With the Excelsior about a third full, the crowd like this reviewer, was appreciative but hardly blown away.
So what went wrong? Let’s talk about stage presence first. There was a lot of energy up there, but also a bit of shallow posing – not too much, just a bit. Great bands can get away with this because of their confidence and, maybe, the awe they are held in. These moves can also be delivered a bit ironically, as the Datsuns do.
But when Major struck a pose it looked like a pose. Some of the repartee fell flat as well. Every time something on stage fails to ring true a band loses a little bit of momentum and that happened too often for Major last Friday.
While the power pop was definitely there, I also wonder if Major has a core of really strong songs. Any pop group needs great songs, but there were few standouts and certainly nothing ringing in my head on the way home – the way a host of You Am I numbers would.
Major have just released their second EP, read about it here.