It is more than ten thousand miles from Melbourne, Australia, to Washington, DC, but by the time the Aussie quartet Belair Lip Bombs took the stage at DC’s Songbyrd Music House on Sunday night, any residual jet lag was long gone. The Lip Bombs are somewhere in the middle of their first headlining tour of North America, and they were ready to deliver.
Actually, that delivery was delayed for a few minutes as they dealt with some technical difficulty that seemed to be affecting lead singer Maisie Everett’s mic. It prompted guitarist Mike Bradvica to advise the sell-out crowd at DC’s intimate 150-capacity Songbyrd to talk amongst themselves for a few more minutes.
But soon, the problem was solved, and Bradvica’s guitar dived into the lead track from the band’s second album Again. That song, “Again and Again,” is a perfect introduction to the insanely melodic jangle fuzz from one of the best young bands on the indie rock scene.
Belair Lip Bombs deliver a tight set of perfect modern rock
On the night, the Lip Bombs played eight tracks from the new album, along with three fan favorites from their debut, Lush Life, released in 2023. “Price of Man,” Again’s closing track boasted some pummeling bass work from Jimmy Droughton, while “Say My Name”, which closed the night, showed off Bradvica’s exceptional ability to provide tight, melodic soundscapes with minimal reliance on guitar effects.
That isn’t to say the Melbourne crew doesn’t employ modern knobs and pedals to bolster their sound. But whereas it seems as if every new rock outfit these days leans heavily into shoegaze, kneeling like supplicants before the array of effects panels at their feet, Bradvica, Droughton, and Everett (on rhythm guitar) mostly look out at the audience and wail on their instruments.
They may be a bit tighter on the older songs, like “Say My Name” and “Look the Part,” which allows each member to shine. But there is not a single moment where that old school energy lags. Everett is an assured singer, and Dev Devlin, who took over on drums a few years ago and does most of the interacting with the audience from behind his kit, is rock solid throughout.
This is still a young band finding its way. At times on Sunday, they seemed bowled over by the fact that they are actually touring the USA. But that youthful exuberance should not obscure the fact that they are writing great songs that straddle the line between indie and punk, and are delivering them at an exceptionally high level.
The crisp 11-song 45-minute set flew by, but was wall-to-wall power. No elaborate solos but flourishes galore energized each number. After watching him for those 45 minutes, I can say that Bradvica is one of my favorite young guitarists in the Indie rock space today.
He may never step to the front and call attention to himself, but listen for a few minutes and you’ll realize he is always doing something interesting.
The other members of the band follow suit. Stellar numbers like “Another World” and “Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)” – the first a throbbing slice of power pop and the second an aching emo anthem that trades preciousness for defiance – are par for the course on the new album and at their live show.
The Lip Bombs are touring with fellow Aussies dust, a quintet from up the coast in Newcastle. They played nine songs in their 40 minutes on stage, with guitarists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale trading vocals. They recently released their first feature-length album – Sky is Falling – after making waves with the EP Et Cetera, Etc back in 2023.
“New High,” a single that was released between the two albums, shows off their ability to combine a pounding rock pulse with a more melodic song. And it also reveals their most obvious departure from standard post-punk music – the presence of Adam Rudgeway on sax, adding a jazzy, otherworldly element that makes them a spiritual descendant of iconic DC band Fugazi.
“Swamped” (from the new album) and “Ward 52” (from their debut EP) continue that eclectic approach to aggressive noise rock that offers far more texture than the standard entries in the genre.
New York’s Laveda opened the proceedings with a half hour of grungy dream pop. “Care,” the first track from their 2025 album Love, Darla, features a wiry guitar attack from Jake Brooks and some intricate drumming from Joe Taurone. The Queens-based quartet closed with the new album’s lead single, “Cellphone,” which vocalist Ali Genevich explained grew out of how much she hates her phone.
Love and hate. Emo and power. Noise and melody. The three bands gave the DC crowd a fine two and a half hours.
Laveda and dust may well be heading up, but I’m pretty certain that if you want to catch the Belair Lip Bombs in an intimate setting, find them on this tour as they swing south through Nashville and Atlanta before turning west and eventually finishing toward the end of April in L.A. They won’t be playing clubs this small for much longer.