PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS @ THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (Live Review)

You’d have to be living under a rock to live in Perth and not have heard of the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. The city has some of the Porn Crumpets’ biggest fans – the band are from Perth, are regulars on the local music scene and Perth ranks #3 for most Spotify listens for the band. This is the fourth time I’ve seen them perform, but the first time they’ve been the main act and I’m super excited.
If you have never been to one of their concerts, the first ten minutes can seem pretty overwhelming – they attract an audience who are here to let loose and they are frankly, wild. They always inspire some serious moshing, so being down the front of their concert is a truly thrilling experience. (Just be sure not to get squished.)
From the first note, the band tear it up with a ferocious energy that has made them an unstoppable musical force.
Recent single ‘Social Candy’ is a slightly wacky, zinging tune with a banging chorus and bold guitar riffs. I really love the vocals on this one too, which in my opinion step it up and take a little more of the limelight. The collision of the higher-pitched vocals and fast-paced instrumentals is exciting and the song feels breathtakingly frenzied.
They play tons of hits from their 2016 first album release, High Visceral Pt. 1, including favourites like ‘Cornflake’ and ‘Marmalade March’. That release was followed a year later in 2017 by High Visceral Pt. 2 and songs like Coffee with its echoing sound effects.

As the set progresses, they spiral deeper into a psychedelic frenzy – and so do the audience, thrashing and headbanging without mercy. (Yes, my neck was pretty stiff the next day) They do have plenty of songs with slower rhythms, like ‘Terraqueous‘, which have some of the most intense impact because the slower parts mean you don’t always expect the explosion of guitar that will inevitably commence towards the end of the track. The band are full of surprises, with songs and hints of influences that tip into other less frenzied genres. This might have something to do with the fact the band members have a very diverse musical background. Singer/guitarist Jack McEwan produced Raga tunes before joining the band, while Luke the bassist is a classically-trained soprano and Ben Caddy on strings has played for the UN’s Symphony Orchestra and performed for Prince Charles. That’s an impressive group of musicians, and makes for a band that has incredibly well-produced songs that never fail to hit the mark.
A Psychedelic Porn Crumpets concert is NOT for the fainthearted, especially if you are moshing it, but boy is it a good time! They take over the space they inhabit with a huge stage presence and are a refreshing addition to the psych rock scene, managing to be both unique and also deeply true to the sound of psychedelia.