Tiny Ruins
20th May 2023
Paisley Stage, Napier, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers. Photography by Andrew Caldwell.
Tiny Ruins, the vehicle for lead singer and principal force Hollie Fullbrook, touched down in Napier’s coolest little venue™ last night and gave the audience something to remember. With their dynamic mix of the loud and the quiet, they provided an eclectic mix of material from across the repertoire.
Having never managed to intersect with the band before, being one more of those outfits that I was aware of but hadn’t had the time yet to hear, (because, after all, there are only so many hours in the day! Stupid temporality!) I was keen to see what they could show me. After only just scraping in the door with a few minutes to spare and missing support act Stretch entirely, I must say the first few songs somewhat slipped by me, without making a particular impression. Was it me or was it them, who knows? But in any case, while being finely crafted and played, I wasn’t really feeling the cut-through.
Things picked up with Seafoam Green, an ode to bassist Cass Basil and her instrument which livened up the pace a little, ending with a coda played on penny whistle. For the next number though, it was as if some Colombian marching powder had been ingested, as the fully charged ensemble powered into “Hurtling Through”, the song on which Hollie collaborated with the now sadly departed Hamish Kilgour. This brought on a more engaging style, drawing in the interest previously only hinted at, guitarist Tom Healy letting rip with a power only briefly glimpsed prior to this.
From this point on I was far more drawn in to proceedings, having seen what could be done, and also the set list displayed a noticeable variety, interspersing the shouty and the whispered bits more successfully. As previously mentioned, I’m unfamiliar with the original material, so unable to comment on how well the renditions stacked up against the original iterations, but let’s just say I liked the songs enough to make me want to check out the albums when time permits!
The main set concluded with “Sounds Like”, mentioned by Hollie as having been difficult to record, but this translated into the live setting as being complex and satisfying in its delivery, so that was a win there, in a roundabout fashion!
Returning for the encore gave Hollie a chance to either distract from, or go full-on TMI, depending on perspective, the re-tuning of instruments with a tale of a recent dream featuring an invasion of marine crustaceans (you had to be there!), requiring numerous leaps of the imagination to visualise, and I’m sure leaving Lucy and crew glad that it didn’t come true.
This trio concluded on another high note, seeing the return of volume and power for “Dorothy Bay”, before the band departed the stage, having seemingly satisfied the fans and simultaneously piqued the interest of at least this listener. I was able to see what it was about them that has drawn such praise across a wider sphere, but it would’ve been good to see it earlier on – still, we got there in the end!
Tiny Ruins:
Stretch:
Were you there at Paisley Stage for this dynamic indie-folk show? Or have you seen Tiny Ruins perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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