Liquid Lunch: “Sketches 2 Seed” – an infectious and smoldering staple

Ken Eagle and Michele Akers discovered each other’s musical abilities after meeting at a dance in May 2014 and formed a duo in late October of the same year. They booked their first gig a month later…prior to having any material ready, and were forced to burn the midnight candle before successfully completing the gig with a 40 song repertoire. The duo, Liquid Lunch has now played in excess of 200 Gigs, performing at more than 50 different venues and travelling in excess of 160,000kms across the state of South Australia. Through it all Eagle and Akers, now bring to the table their 6 track self-produced EP “Sketches 2 Seed”, released earlier this year. Most pop today features performers who couldn’t sing their way out of a paper bag without auto-tune, and bland, synthesized music with a straight 4 to the floor beat that has no soul. The first thing that strikes about Liquid Lunch is Michele Akers’ rich resonating voice, and then that jazzy swing in their music that wraps itself around blues, soul, singer-songwriter and rock sensibilities. It all seems like an intriguing mix and fusion of musical genres.

Liquid Lunch has swiftly joined a place in my highest musical tier. Their music is apparently simple, yet richly complex and highly enjoyable. Not only do the duo provide a musical sound that both pulls from the past yet has a new, edgy feel, they do it with a vivacity and sultriness that is reminiscent of classic acts from bygone eras.

In a musical world obsessed with theatricality, exhibitionism and pornographic costumes, it is a breath of fresh air to see a set of artists almost exclusively concentrate on the aspects of their music. The secret to Liquid Lunch’s successful sound is easy to identify from the very first notes of “All She Wants”, the opening track on the EP.

Unhurried, unfazed, a strummed acoustic guitar, a plucked bass, a warm and shimmering keyboard, and a voice that is as stunningly surefooted as it is warm and accommodating. But the EP’s allure also stems from its consistency, with each and every track seamlessly passing the baton to the next without any significant dip in momentum. On the contrary it actually gains momentum on the bluesy “Can’t Live There”, with some chunky electric guitar riffs brought into the mix.

“Dirty Love” provides the record with another infectious and smoldering staple as it boasts a memorable, radio-friendly melody and enlists a smoldering electric piano and resonating horns to lace through the track’s stylish soul-pop drenched arrangement propelling us through to this cohesive and colorful patchwork of tunes.

Throughout the recording, and especially on the bass driven “Say”, the listener is rendered powerless to Liquid Lunch’s charm, which will probably result in more than one embarrassingly enthusiastic performance while stuck at a set of traffic lights. Rest assured though, you’ll be having far too much fun slapping your hands on the steering wheel to care.

“Wish I Could” is one of many highlights, showcasing Aker’s earthy voice in tandem with some deceptively elaborate instrumentation from Michele Akers who keeps the engine room running on this EP, before closing the show with an acoustic version of “All She Wants”. “Sketches 2 Seed” grabs you by the hand and drags you into a full-bodied embrace that is iron-clad, it’s simply up to you to give it the chance to do so.

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