ACL Live Shot: The Preatures

Though hailing from Sydney, Australia, the Preatures recorded their forthcoming debut LP, Blue Planet Eyes, in Austin with producer Jim Eno. If the quintet’s early afternoon ACL Fest show is anything to go by, the Spoon drummer did them a disservice.

In contrast to the sprightly, electronica-dusted pop of the album, the Preatures’ nine-song set emphasized how this is a rock & roll band, not just a vendor of ear candy. When the moody title track opened, singer Isabella Manfredi’s synth and vox were drowned out by a bass-heavy mix. That quickly corrected mistake hardly mattered in the long run.

Isabella Manfredi leads Australia’s Preatures during one of the first sets of ACL Fest 2014 (Photo by John Anderson)

Wasting no time, “Somebody’s Talking” found guitarists Gideon Bensen and Jack Moffitt cutting loose and Manfredi then doubling down on swagger, losing the sweetening and going straight for the jugular. Away from her keyboard, the charismatic singer exploded with energy, grabbing the audience with eye contact and doing handstands that came off as exuberance rather than gimmicks.

Other album tracks got similar makeovers. The bouncy “Cruel” and ludicrously catchy “It Gets Better” hit harder than their studio counterparts, while “Whatever You Want” transformed from fluffy synth pop to powerhouse rock. Its exhortation, “Whatever you want/ I’ll give it to you,” arrived more threat than promise.

Speaking of promises, Manfredi didn’t fulfill hers to “snog” the worst dancer to closing killer “Is This How You Feel,” but the band brought the house down anyway. The Preatures clearly have a blast playing, and that translated.

“Is this how you feel, baby?” Manfredi asked.

The crowd answered. Very loudly.