Better Lovers didn’t just play Max Watts last night, they laid waste to it, ripping through Melbourne like a band built for impact and nothing else.
On their debut Australian tour, Better Lovers finally hit our shores after years of anticipation, and the room felt like it had been waiting to explode.
Melbourne’s own self-described ‘thrash pop’ duo Mannequin Death Squad kicked things off, warming up the crowd with a set that balanced sharp musicianship with pure chaos energy.
As photographer Ben Gunzberg put it, they brought “their hybrid style, full of intensity, finesse, and a whole lot of fun,” and set the tone early.
Blind Girls followed and turned the venue feral, their set was a blur of erratic riffs, relentless drums, and vocals that sounded like they could slice steel, with brief pockets of calm that only made the heavy parts hit harder.
UK imports Split Chain handled main support duties with the kind of enthusiasm you can’t fake, blending shoegaze haze with alt-metal heft, their bounce and groove gave the crowd something to move to before the main event.
Then Better Lovers arrived and made it clear they weren’t here for a polite debut, from the first note of ‘A White Horse Covered In Blood’ to the final swing of ‘30 Under 13’, it was all sweat, limbs, and volume “thunderous riffs, discordant breakdowns, piercing vocals and just the right amount of melody.”
If this is what Better Lovers look like on their first run down under, Melbourne’s already begging for round two.
Better Lovers – Max Watt’s, Melbourne – Setlist
- A White Horse Covered in Blood
- Drowning in a Burning World
- Superman Died Paralyzed
- Two Alive Amongst the Dead
- Become So Small
- Don’t Forget to Say Please
- Future Myopia
- Sacrificial Participant
- The Impossible End
- God Made Me an Animal
- At All Times
- Love as an Act of Rebellion
- Lie Between the Lines
- 30 Under 13
Photo Gallery by Ben Gunzberg
Mannequin Death Squad
Blind Girls
Split Chain
Better Lovers
