Bleak Squad, The Genevieves @ The Gov, Adelaide 2/8/2026

Are Bleak Squad the best Australian band that no one has heard of yet? Mention the names of the members and it becomes apparent quickly, this is almost a “supergroup”, if that term is still tossed around these days. The band features Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque) Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party), Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting), and perhaps the term “supergroup” is an embarrassing word. “Supernatural” might be more apt.

The Genevieves opened proceedings with a compelling thirty minutes of lush guitar soundscapes, mixed with pop-derived melodies. With all four members contributing vocals, the band flexed an ever-changing vocal dynamic, though the guitars remained firmly at the fore. At the conclusion of Linda, feedback bled seamlessly into a frantic Words.

“Thank you for coming early. This is the most people we have ever played to” we were laughingly told. “Here’s a brand spanking new song in 52 Years” started with a Neil Young vibe of 52 years ago and was a highlight of the set. Parts ended in a chaotic guitar drone that bled into the start of a frantic Bloody Nose. An apocalyptic ending to the song ensured.

Coward commenced with delicate and delightful sounds flowing out of the speakers, until cascading into a wonderous wall of noise ending. Closing out with a light hearted pitch, “Please buy some merch, our drummer needs new drum sticks” they exited the stage.

The Genevieves proved that in just three short years of existing, their future is entirely in their own capable hands.

On a freezing Sunday night in Adelaide, logic dictates staying indoors by the heater, but no, here we were at The Gov to see The Bleak Squad. With the lineup of Adalita (vocals/ guitar), Mick Harvey (vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards), Mick Turner (guitar) and Marty Brown (drums) we were all curious as to what the band would have to offer, having seen each of the members in various bands over the years. Adalita summed it up perfectly, with a “This is The Bleakies first Adelaide show at The Gov, but individually, we have all been here many times before.”

To the tune of The Velvet Undergrounds, Who Loves the Sun the band walked on to the dark stage. A brief round of fine tuning led to Mick Harvey saying “I think we are almost ready. Oh, we are ready”, leading into the opening song, Strange Love. Next up Safe Houses rang out, and the effortless vocal chemistry between Adalita and Mick Harvey was undeniable.

Bleak Squad are a new band and only have one album out so during the night we were treated to a couple of Mick Harvey’s solo works. The first was splendid moving rendition of A Suitcase in Berlin, with Mick moving to keyboards for the song.

The band members moved effortlessly from instrument to instrument. Drummer Marty Brown played keyboards on Blue Signs with Mick Harvey on drums. The stage stayed dark during the tune, giving it the stark look it deserved. A Jackson C. Frank cover, Cover Me with Roses followed, Mick Harvey on acoustic guitar and Mick sharing vocals with Adalita. The vocal trade-offs between Harvey and Adalita felt less like a rehearsed duet and more like two intuitive artists intuitively bouncing off one another.

For Ghost of the Bad Humour Man, there were no drums. Marty moved to keyboard again and while the song started gently like the album, it turned into a wall of noise, sounding at times like four people playing four different songs, but yet merging into total sonic harmony. A new song, Black Magic followed and was as good, if not better than, anything on the current album. The future looks bright for the band.

Set closer Melanie, with music written by Mick Turner, served as a showcase for his signature guitar wizardry, weaving feedback-drenched textures across the room.

For the encore we got “A piece that was released on seven inches of wax”, in Black &White before making the bold, successful move to close the night on an unreleased track. “We are road testing a new song, sing along” joked Adalita. “You don’t know the words but we can practice”. And we did. The song was called Just for Fun and we leant to sing the words, “just for fun”, and to then sing them out loudly during the song.

Adalita promised they all would be at the merch desk in a few minutes, and true to her word they were, signing albums for the fans and happily talking to them. Nice touch.

With the promise of a second album on the horizon, Bleak Squad won’t remain a hidden secret for long. Catching fresh, new bands in intimate rooms is as good as live music gets.

Live Review By Geoff Jenke