Ecca Vandal

Lately, when writing about certain performers I enjoy, I find myself furiously backspacing after typing the ol’ faithful ‘check them out, before they blow up’. Mostly, because it’s banal, elementary writing, but also because I found myself using it for the large majority of artists I report on. After I caught myself spinning the tired line out for the thousandth time, I made a commitment to myself to only use it for the most coveted artists, the ones I am assured WILL blow up, and who you SHOULD check out. Using it in this manner, i feel it is akin to Tinder’s new SuperLike, only less predatory.

With that said, you should check Ecca Vandal out before she blows up. Sorry.

Having listened to Ecca previously, but not having much background knowledge, I was surprised to hear that her single launch for Father Hu$$la,would be held at Melbourne’s The Workers Club. While an excellent venue on every level, judging by the self-assured quality of both her vocals and music in her few releases, I had assumed that she would already be filling out larger venues. This turned out to be a sweet surprise, the intimacy of such a club made for the perfect, atmospheric gig- the kind of small show, if my assumptions are correct, she won’t be able to play for much longer.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbkJsg9w4hU&w=560&h=315]

Support act Heads Of Charm, a self described ‘trash-rock’ trio, was the perfect fit for The Workers Club, and as an opener to Ecca Vandal. With a sound reminiscent of the likes of established UK output Your Demise, the band instantly transported the crowd from an impatient, inattentive collective, to an enraptured audience. The crowd was small, but grew quickly in both size and engagement as the band worked their impeccably haphazard magic on their instruments. Their set bore songs like Check, Check, Check epitomising punk-rock, and sufficiently warming the crowd up for what would ensue when Ecca took control of the stage afterwards.

It’s kind of difficult to describe in efficient language what a room feels like when an artist steps on stage and just completely dominates it and their audience. It’s the perfect blend of intimidation and awe, both of which were felt aplenty for the entire duration of Ecca Vandal’s set. For a girl so small, her presence was so damn large. And her vocals are fucking ridiculous.

Though Ecca’s discography is small (she has only released 3 singles to date), she managed to pack out her 60 minute set in a manner that never saw it drag, or its energy wane. Performing in front of the lighted ‘E’ and ‘V’, her energy fills the room, and before I knew it, the place was absolutely seething with people. When she belts out first single Battle Royal,  I catch the people surrounding me singing along word for word. This too, for favourite White Flag. Though she urged her audience to recognise her new band during an intermission, undoubtedly there was never a single moment when all attention wasn’t on her. With energy as catching as hers, it was impossible for it to be anywhere else.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ_FHLpZ_fQ&w=560&h=315]

Though Ecca flirts with many different elements, her music is primarily punk. It was nothing short of amazing to me that her vocals carried themselves all the way through. She sings with the kind of furious passion that is difficult for many artists to navigate onstage, but not once did her vocals falter or relax. Even in her surprising, yet definitely welcome rendition of Get Ur Freak On, she expressed an awe-inspiring assertiveness. Something about the way Ecca commands the stage even, reminds me of a seasoned artist. Perhaps it’s the nature of the lyrics, perhaps it’s simply because she’s a bad bitch. Either way, it was amazing.

The set eclipsed with the single of the night, and the reason for the show, Father Hu$$la. This track is the perfect introduction to Ecca Vandal, carrying both the punk and electronic elements she works with, in a manner that’s perfectly fluid, yet totally chaotic. The message behind the lyrics, of a father wanting to make it rain, rather than spending time with his family, is even more poignant live. Ecca’s cries of ‘Where are the trees with the money/ Where are the trees with the money I can burn’, had everyone looking angry and impassioned, or maybe that was just me. Regardless, my fury of emotions did not stop until the set did, and even then I felt awkward, displaced. I wasn’t ready for the show to end.

There’s been plenty of buzz surrounding Ecca Vandal lately, and rightfully so. Her fusion of electro-pun-rock-rock outside elements has drawn comparisons to Gwen Stefani or Refused frontman Dennis Lxyzen, a girl in the audience at this show even referred to her as the ‘Australian FKA Twigs’, but her music is in no way an emulation of either. She has created something very unique to her, and this time, and with only three singles under her belt, I wait in anticipation to see what more she will deliver.