The Clouds are back and touring to celebrate the 30th..ish anniversary of their 1991 classic album Penny Century. I caught one of their two sold out Sydney shows at The Factory Theatre with local supergroup The Gin Palace.

The Gin Palace

The Gin Palace are a collection of indie artists that have been rocking the local Aus music venues since the 90’s. They are Peter Fenton on vocals (Crow), Paul McDonald on guitar (Glide, Charlie Horse), Mark Tobin also on guitar (Caligula, The Finalists) Marc Lynch on bass (Glide, Joeys Coop), Brad Christmas on keys (Copperline) and Gareth Richards on drums (Copperline).

Their set was full of lots of glassy, jangly guitar, spellbindingly raw anthemic highs and lows; all topped off by epic theatrics from front man Peter Fenton.

Check out their offerings here, but keep an ear out for a live show. It will put a smile on your face.

The Clouds

There was a seasoned crowd jammed into the Factory tonight, more than ready for an earful of some classic 90’s indie pop. They were already buzzing, and maybe just a little excited, by the time The Clouds sauntered onto the stage all grins and full of jelly beans.

There was a little banter and face spotting in the crowd before they launched into Penny Century; playing it in full, but in reverse order. They started with the poppy and very danceable Wednesday Night, all the way through to finish the main set with the hugely popular Hieronymus.

The harmonies were angelic; guitars were jangly, full of hooky riffs and suitably crunchy; the bass was booming; and drums snapped it all together.

The encore was a generous six songs – a few fave pick lists of the band across their back catalogue – which just left the room wanting more, the band promising to playing other audience faves next time.

Delve into the past and have a listen to Hieronymus here, for a taste of what you missed out on.