Following touring stints with The Devoted Few and Okkervil River, this is The Middle East's third Brisbane show in as many months – and their first as headliners. Those support slots, triple j airplay and the band’s appearance on Spunk’s recent Singles’ Club compilation are enough to fill out the Bowen Hills Old Museum.

The band's mysterious nature is part of their appeal. Little is known about their origin, or even their names. It's known that the band broke up briefly in 2008, but we're not sure why. They've added a seventh member for this performance, though perhaps he'll become a permanent fixture.

Once they begin sketching their harmonious indie folk, we're collectively spellbound. That's no regular review hyperbole: from the dozens sprawled on the wooden floor to the hundreds gathered around their fringe, no-one speaks while the band plays. A couple of songs in, someone's Nokia receives a message. They're jokingly chastised by those nearby while the rest of us switch our phones to silent. Oops.

Songs are barely introduced and banter is minimal, although there's mention of a 16-hour drive from Townsville the day before. It's not that the The Middle East are averse to conversation, but seemingly they'd rather let their music do the speaking. Their instrumentation enunciates a diverse tongue: xylophone, accordion, flute and banjo among guitars, percussion, trumpet and voice.

Tonight’s performance sees the five tracks from their recently re-released EP The Recordings Of The Middle East aired, along with a few other unknown but presumably newer compositions. 'Fool's Gold' consists of gently-plucked six-string and an array of harmonies sung at different times. For a few moments, the guitar fades away, and we're left with resonating human voices. The band reduce their sound in this manner several times, and it loses none of its power.

The least complicated songs are among their strongest: 'The Darkest Side' is sung with stunning conviction; 'Lonely' builds to an electric, sustained climax; and 'Blood', a moving tale of divorce, family and death, breaks me. Incredibly, they've even roped in a Queensland youth choir to add an extra 10 voices to the euphony. From sorrow to joy in five minutes, 'Blood' is an incredible closing statement from the Townsville seven.

by Andrew McMillen