with The Sinking Teeth

Friday, September 19

Waves nightclub Towradgi

True road-warrior touring bands take to the van and the highways with reckless abandon and enthusiasm, satisfied only when they've thoroughly worn out either their brains, their body or their vehicle, but even the most experienced of travelling bands need a breather somewhere along the way.

Melbourne rockers Kingswood, in the midst of their national tour launching debut album Microscopic Wars, had a few days off mid-tour in Brisbane. Of course, it was hardly a reprieve from the hard-partying late nights on tour, as they checked in at perhaps the Australian music industry's biggest party.

"We got into Bigsound in Brisbane a few nights ago. It has been a few big nights," laughed frontman Fergus Lineker.

He's talking to the Mercury from the Bigsound conference, the antipodean equivalent of the Texan music conference South By Southwest.

Hundreds of bands, musicians, label heads and industry bigwigs converge on Brisbane for a week each year, for days of panels, talks, forums, showcase gigs and a lot of drinking.

"It is a big party, a celebration for the industry," Fergus said.

Their performances in Brisbane come right in the middle of their Microscopic Wars tour.

The rockers wind their way down the coast from there, playing Wollongong on Friday. After several years playing songs from their first few releases, Fergus said it was a relief to have new material to test on bigger audiences, with the album officially released on the cusp of the album's release.

"It's been amazing to play these new songs. People are even requesting songs now, it's great people are starting to know the new ones," he said.

"We're playing nearly everything from the album on tour. It is still new and exciting for us, working out how to play it all live."

Kingswood is a booming, primal rock'n'roll sound. Anchored by Fergus's wailing vocals, huge distorted guitars and relentless percussion, the sound harks back to rock's early days with nods to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and AC/DC.

Screaming guitar lines and dirty, gritty rhythms play off one another, a formula that has seen Kingswood be picked for Big Day Out, support Aerosmith on tour and make Microscopic Wars one of the year's most anticipated Australian rock releases.

It has also seen Kingswood lock in a punishing tour schedule, but it is a timetable Fergus is all too keen to keep up.

"Whenever I'm at home, I sit on the couch and wish we had a gig that night," he said.

"If we're not writing or touring, I feel like I'm being useless."