As much as I really really love going to gigs, more often than not I’ll give live recordings and handheld youtube footage a wide berth; outside of a performance setting I simply prefer the recorded music as it was intended to be heard, without the bum notes and nerve-shredding feedback.

My new music crush, Holy Balm, have become a massive exception to that rule, mostly because they’ve only released one sold out 7” and one sold out shared tape in their five year (!) history. From what I can gather online their style has evolved significantly throughout their run, but the collection of live recordings I’ve heard from the last 2/3 years are magnificent: loose, psychedelic, drum-machine-ruined disco and rickety dance music.

Warts n’ all works in Holy Balm’s favour, and this Sydney trio is the closest I’ve come to hometown pride in a good long while.

I’m not sure know what this track is called, but it pops up in the aforementioned live recordings (thanks, Sydney Tapes!) and is best listened to from around the 2min mark and onwards.