The Growlers
19th January 2020
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Mike Beck. Photography by Richard Myburgh.
The Powerstation fortunately became the designated host for The Growlers only NZ show of their 2020 world tour, and what a night it turned out to be, as the Californian outfit delivered a quick fire back to back set of their finest material for an in-tune and highly supportive audience.
With their time-warped styling of garage/surf guitar/psychedelic and art rock musical sensibilities, The Growlers would be the ideal band to front an Andy Warhol party. Hailing from the Californian west coast surfing destination of Duna Point, they fuse a bunch of musical genres, pulling it all together with an identified admiration of 1960’s predecessors (the underscoring presence of The Beach Boys sound and harmony vocals for one). The Growlers DIY sound is edgy and threatens to cut loose into random punk realms but is kept at bay thanks to an orchestrated synergy/sound that is best described as cinematic.
After having just completed a dozen shows in bush-fire torn Australia, The Growlers timed their visit to our shores in the midst of a series of humid mid-summer Auckland evenings. A vibrant predominantly youthful audience greeted them with open arms, swaying and grooving to their sounds throughout. And it was a hectic ride; twenty-nine songs rolled out in around 2 hours, with very little space between numbers, or banter from lead vocalist and founding member Brooks Nielsen. The relentless nature of their performance felt like both they and we were in the grips of some strange beach party, or an alternative flick, with The Growlers providing the soundtrack.
It was clear with ‘California’ that The Growlers have an affinity with their homeland, and more specifically the west coastal region they originate from. Its alt-country tinge providing one piece of The Growlers many musical elements/genres. ‘One Million Lovers’ gave us a hybrid of ska and cine-country, the decade of releasing seven albums and a cluster of EPs’ noticeably giving The Growlers time to nurture their unique sound. ‘Dope on A Rope’ recalled the sound of The Smiths, with a familiar guitar riff from core member Matt Taylor, replete with upturned cowboy hat.
Brooks Nielsen, with his distinctive voice and minimalist posing, has a somewhat captivating style; no dancing, or moving around on stage for the most part, Nielsen held the mic in a poised, almost stoic manner, and said so little that he didn’t even get around to announcing the band. Introducing ‘Night Ride’ Nielsen quipped; “this is a song for the evening, is it night-time?”, the guys themselves all keeping to a cool factor without too many theatrics, dressing casually as if they’d done some serious op shop hunting K Road style.
The bands’ latest studio effort, 2019’s Natural Affair, got substantial coverage, ‘Tune Out’, and ‘Try Hard Fool’ as well as the title track all sounding fresh and vibrant. ‘Social Man’ with its funky lope, got people moving, with keyboardist Kyle Straka cutting loose on a wild solo, albeit too briefly. His swirling keys were a constant, and gave a circus-like tone to the atmos.
‘Love Test’ chopped the production qualities of The Beach Boys in favour of a lo-fi rendering; this restraint is something The Growlers are well subscribed to. The label ‘Beach Goth’ has been embraced by the group, so much so that they’ve organised an annual music event since 2012 under the moniker.
‘Sea Lion Goth Blues’ (off 2010’s Hot Tropics) surmised The Growlers ethos, with its garage surf sound and lyrics that stated; “When it’s your time to go, you’ll never know, when you’ll have to return your soul”. A narrative in many of their songs, they ask many questions about this life, and what the journey is all about.
Whether it was with the smooth time-shift segue of ‘Problems III’, or the trash-disco of ‘City Club’, bassist Brad Bowers and drummer Richard Gowen kept things solid all night, colouring whenever it was needed. The two-pronged guitars of Taylor and Kyle Straka complimented each other and mixed moments of jangle with occasional solo sears.
And so concluded an evening of eclectic music delivered in quick-fire fashion, enjoyed by all, from a band operating out on its own with an ethic to place music upfront as the focal point. One could ascertain that The Growlers, although playful and image conscious, sing songs about the game of life, love and the soul. And that was exactly how they played it on the night.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this brilliant garage rock show? Or have you seen The Growlers somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
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