Mermaidens
9th December 2023
San Fran, Wellington, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Tim Gruar.
Now split between Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau indie three-piece Mermaidens have been bouncing around the motu in support of their fourth, self-titled album. Tonight was their homecoming. So I fronted up in my double denims to hear some new material from one of the Capital’s most beloved acts.
One of the things I love about hitting Welly’s San Fran lately is the sheer volume of quality underground music bubbling up to the surface of late. Recently I saw a raft of new and brewing talent from the Eye Gum Collective at their annual Great Sounds Great Festival. And tonight, another act, Bleeding Star, blew me away again.
Bleeding Star – Jude Savage, Carlos Bellamy and Kindekel Banda- Moyes and Otis Hill have been active since 2021, making cooler-than-fuck indie pop tunes with layers of drone dripping in fuzz feedback. They remind me a little bit of Firehose and Hüsker Dü (two of my favourites). Songs from their 2021 collection ‘Dropper’ and follow up ‘We Fall Together’ are inspired, they claim, “by the long marriage of melody and noise”. And, this evening, they lived up to that. Unfortunately, it’s just a trio that play these days. One of the band’s guitarists, Otis Hill has to sit out, due to an ongoing battle with a rare form of cancer. We wish him much aroha and all the best in his recovery.
They began confidently with some brooding shoegaze – ‘Is The Worrying Working?’ and ‘Paper Thin’ – before opening up on grinding versions of ‘Poison In You’ and ‘February’. Both were dripping with post-21st Century angst and pedal fuzz. There was a new song (‘Flesh’) which was beautifully dark and melodic. As was ‘Cancer’ and the title track from their debut album, ‘Dropper’. Every one of these songs are layered in grunge-strum and pedal reverb as the lead plays off against the bass. Kindekel Banda- Moyes plays her drum kit with effortless skill. On the surface she’s a gliding swan, but the rhythms are complex and dense, there’s an incredible engine at work.
And sure, this is heavy noise pop. Still, the tunes are easily hummed. They are disarming, full of raw emotions and contemplation. I loved them.
I said it before, Mermaidens third album, self-titled, is by far my album of the year. It’s a more accessible, pop-driven work than earlier releases, ‘Undergrowth’, ‘Look Me In The Eye’ and ‘Perfect Body’. Previous material was often more abstract, angular, spiky, noisy, but laced with 70’s twee and Tupperware suburbia, which becomes more obvious in their videos. And often you get further hints of the chosen dress sense of Gussie Larkin (guitars/vocals), bassist/vocalist Lily West and Abe Hollingsworth (drums).
Larkin is an absolute master of her instrument, having earned her chops with her other sci-fi-psyche-rock act Earth Tongue (which she shares with drummer Ezra Simons). She can smash out some face-melting solos then switch to delicate, soft shades or sci-fi twerks and tweaks. Her instrument can be an axe or a bell, or a synth. It’s a shapeshifter. For listener and player she’s mesmerising on stage. And versatile, too. You may have also seen her cutting up the stage recently at the ‘Atomic! Hailing The Pioneering Women Of Rock & Roll’ tribute gig with legends like Julia Deans, Dianne Swann and Boh Runga.
On vinyl and live you get an absolute theme of solidarity, as a unit. Mermaidens are three friends, firm and fast, and play intuitively, vibing off each other in perfect harmoniousness. They’ve been together over 12 years now and that harmony shows clearly. They wrote, produce, made, and released this latest one themselves, so like proud parents they beam with well-deserved pride and joy.
The intentions of the latest album were to strip away the layers and focusing on vocals and lyrics. With Earth Tongue, Larkin employs her full arsenal of gigantic, guitar sludge riffing. But with Mermaidens the emphasis is on song craft and a blending of voices between both women. We heard plenty of that tonight.
As with many Mermaidens shows there always a bit of ad hoc banter with their very supportive audience. In amongst it is many of Hollingsworth’s immediate whanau – Mom, Dad, cousins, friends. The woman who lived across the road from Larkin, who came to their first shows, is here. There are fans new and old too. I ran into one who’d brought her boyfriend. He was so smitten he bought matching t-shirts from the merch stand and they wore them proudly. Even I was tempted. But I’ve already got the deluxe colour vinyl of their new album. It’s still available, by the way.
The band were feeling the aroha, grinning away. And new dad, Abe Hollingsworth was enjoying this burst of freedom, too, laughing, grinning ear to ear, smiling and chucking out quips.
They were accompanied on stage by Louisa Nicklin, who helped out with guitars and keyboards when needed. She did her best to keep a low profile. That is, until Larkin introduced her. “We mentioned at a Christchurch show that she was helping us out and someone in the audience shouted back: “You are so lucky – to get Julia Jacklin!” Ha Ha!” But even though Nicklin tries to hide in the shadows, it’s clear she’s integral to the team, filling in where the hands can’t be and providing the essential sounds.
Much of the set included, unsurprisingly, material from the new album. Afterall this was the release tour. So, we got true to form renditions of the fabulously black ‘Sour Lips’, ‘Foolish’, ‘Highly Strung’, ‘Dress For Success’, and ‘Sister’. Everyone of these was deftly perfect.
There was a real sister moment when Hollingsworth leaves the stage and for Larkin and West to play a sultry, techno-laden ‘Comet’. They manipulate the sounds around the song but keep its quiet integrity true to the recording on the new album. I scribbled down “languid, floating, dreamy.” Was this a new interpretation of a 60’s girl group thing? Maybe.
There are a few older numbers, too. Like ‘I Might Disappear’ and ‘Soft Energy’ (which has the most disturbing line about sex: ‘Sweat from your neck drips down my spine….” No one cared. We all bounced around with fervour. Huge smiles from the near capacity audience.
I’m blown away by how bitterly charming West is as she commands dark respect on ‘Greedy Mouth’. There’s a touch of the dominatrix in her delivery that is nicely unsettling.
There’s always a full-on wig out moment and that comes with ‘Wander’, where the amp-rate is lowered only to quickly return with a full aggression all the way to the climatic crescendos.
In Auckland’s show there was a feature from ‘’The Butts’’, volunteers that danced in their jeans and denim shirts to the lines from ‘I Like To Be Alone’. But alas this time it was just a straight delivery, with no extra hands in back pockets to be seen.
There are times when the band is aggressive, and others when they are – “sultry” (Hollingsworth’s description). Other lines almost scary – as in don’t mess with us! Particularly true in the encore/closer, the dinosaur prowling promise of “Under The Mountain”’.
The band is highly polished, even if there’s an occasional reset or feedback squeal. It was a night of celebration. Mermaidens have made an amazing album and it was great to hear some of it live. It was a happy crowd, well satisfied that left tonight, with T-shirts and albums tucked under their arms. A sign of a good show, love and ongoing support for a beloved band.
Mermaidens:
Bleeding Star:
Were you there at San Fran for this magnificent indie gig? Or have you seen Mermaidens perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Sour Lips
- Sister
- I Might Disappear
- Tear It Down
- Greedy Mouth
- Comet
- Mind Slow
- Push It
- Foolish
- Dress For Success
- Soft Energy
- Highly Strung
- Wander
- Siren Song
- I Like To Be Alone
- Under The Mountain [encore]
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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