Daily Meds

The very talented foursome, Daily Meds, hit the ground running at their OAF show as they stomped on stage amped to celebrate the launch of their first full-length album, Happy Daze. The crowd was ready too, already fired up from opener Ozi Batla. Ozi set the mood for the evening, as the sexy hipster grunge fans sunk into a ‘get-down’ state of mind. It was an appropriately wild start to the eve.

Formed in Sydney in 2009, Daily Meds is rappers P Smurf and Mikoen, guitar and beat production prodigy, Roleo, and sassy soulful vocalist, Billie Rose, who despite being the ‘lady’ of the group, can spit some serious rhymes.

The four kicked off with ‘Medheads’. It wasn’t an overly inspiring track for this critic; however, the group has an engaging and winning style. P Smurf starts in first, rhyming at a highly impressive speed; he's followed by Mikoen who flows even faster. The fans love the race! They’re a bunch of non-stop screamers, really, and it’s hard to resist those heavy bass vibrations. 

Billie Rose is the star of a talented bunch, though, and dazzles with her incredible style, flow and a striking, bluesy voice. Her sassy vocals pair gritty Aussie hip-hop patter with an r’n’b, pop sound. It’s a beautiful combo, especially in ‘Sinister Mansion’. And she can move too, at times outshining her fellow Meds, who could work the stage presence a little harder.

Not that we're really complaining: there is no lack of fun stage-crowd interaction. The band isn't shy of shout-outs, offers a freestyle session, shoots water into the crowd and even asks everyone to join in a group toast as they gulp down shots of liquor. We, being professionals, did not take part of course. Ahem…

These are songs made for a live airing, and the band pushes out their music with a greater freshness than  on the already solid album. They're certainly working hard up there; these guys get an A+ for effort. Each performer is clearly exhausted as the set goes on, yet the level never lags. After less than an hour, Daily Meds exclaims that this would usually be the end of their set. The crowd shouts angrily – it’s a tease of course – and the band immediately goes into their hit song, ‘Insane’, a Triple J charmer and the track that features the band’s catchiest hook. 

They’re just breaking through right now, but with this show, Daily Meds have established themselves as a talent we’re keen to watch grow. And one we'd happily have spray us again.