“It’s been just over eight years since I last saw Phantastic Ferniture, and nearly a decade since I first saw them crammed into the daft upstairs room of the long-lost Record Crate in Glebe. Time has passed, and singer Julia Jacklin’s solo career has bloomed, but this is no vanity project, no self-indulgent nostalgia trip. It’s easy to forget that on the back of just the one self-titled album from 2018, the ‘Ferns *still* clock up streaming numbers most emerging acts would gladly trade organs for. Back together onstage, they remain a real force – Jacklin’s voice was always their primary weapon (and it’s not like that’s got any worse over the years) but Elizabeth Fader is and has always been an inventive, intricate guitarist, and Ryan K Brennan’s pounding, insistent rhythms remain as commanding as ever. It’s like they stepped out of the room for a minute only to reappear years later. It certainly feels like they never left – the only remaining question at the end of the night is whether they’re back for good. We can only hope.”
