Mermgrown Festival
20th February 2021
The Workingmen’s Bowling Club, Wellington, New Zealand.
Review by Tim Gruar. Photography by Stella Gardiner.
It finally happened. After Covid cancelled last year’s festival, and then threatened to do it again just three short days ago – Mermgrown, the Capitals newest and coolest alternative music event finally took flight today and gave us all the chance for a splendid day out on the green.
Tucked up behind the Zoo in the crux of Newtown’s steep, heavily wooded hills, crickets chirp and birdie woven over the decaying club rooms of the Workingmen’s Bowling Club. There are two greens. One is on form and punters, young and old are enjoying a few ends. Whites are not required, with players in all manner of attire from Mermgrown tees to summer dresses, sneakers and Doc Martens.
On the other green, a crowd has spread themselves out on picnic blankets. They sip cheap craft beer. Little kids run around. Small dogs laze in front of their owners. The second green is in disrepair, requiring serious landscaping – but for today it’s perfect for a small stage.
Mermgrown is really an extension of Mermaidens musical whanau. Everyone on and off the stage seems to know each other. There is a real community vibe of cooperation and solidarity, all in aid of a good day out.
Black Spider Stomp starts with an energetic swirl of bohemian-tinged music. Electro warrior Ludus (Emma Bernard) provides some lovely summer vibes, with washes of positivity and uplifting electronica to match the soft breeze, the gentle clouds and the blue skies.
This is followed by poet Freya Daily Sadgrove who delivers some provocative and downright dirty verses.
Motte (Anita Clark) performs solo – a selection from her ‘Boogaloo EP’ and ‘Strange Dreams’ album – with her violin, pedals and mixer. Her ambient soundscapes a blissed out aural architecture. Most songs blend into each other, the tempo changing little, with a few minor variants. This music is more about moods.
Emily Edrosa (Street Chant) recently returned from L.A. where she’s pursuing a music career as a solo artist. On stage her carefree, casual approach and cheeky macho swagger reminded me of Courtney Barnett. Playing songs from her new album, ‘Another Wave is Coming’ plus a few ‘oldies’, she gave us a taste of her complex rhythms and song constructs. All delivered via her electric guitar, this was a stripped back set which showed promise, although I think I’d prefer the songs with a full band. She returns to Wellington towards the end of February, so I’m hoping I might just get the chance to hear them that way…
After her short 30-minute gig I swiped the set list. Here they are – with a caveat. Edrosa mentioned “I might have missed a couple”: Shy, ‘Retirer’, ‘A New Career’, ‘You Do The Maths’, ‘The Corner Of The Party’, and ‘NCEA’ – “A song I wrote when I should have been studying.” The last track on the list was ‘applause’, which Edrosa received in spades. Roll on the national tour!
Playing their “Six top trending songs from Spotify – plus a couple more” Zero Cool brought some welcome shoegazer dreampop. I particularly enjoyed the spacey grooves of ‘Full Buzz” and the deviously heavy bass vibe of the sardonic ‘Balaclava Piss Man’.
“Why wont you love me,” claimed rapper PollyHill, “I’ve been trying to break into the Welly Scene for ages. I even own a ‘keep cup’, I’m lit!’’ PollyHill is a clever crowd manipulator. With funky beats and a wise-girl attitude, she whips through some very cool numbers. ‘Rare View’, ‘Red Wine’ and ‘Spooky’ have a streetwise attitude and together with her crowd-pleasing rapport build a memorable set.
To help out, she ropes in an old school friend, who she calls “The next Mayor of Wellington” to help out on one rhyme. Plenty of in jokes, many going over my head. She shows off her leather bondage harness, worn over the top of a fishnet / bikini combo – “Honestly, you’ll be a hit in the bedroom.” These are on sale amongst the zines, orange Tupperware, second-hand clothing, and original artworks inside the clubrooms. That kicks off a ‘dance competition’, and a remix-slash-mashup of the Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’, courtesy of her DJ.
In complete contrast neo-folk artists/siblings Charlotte and Haz Forester (and drummer) – known as Womb – start off a meandering, dreamy set. Ethereal and drifting, Charlotte leads this three-piece with vocals and guitar. Songs like ‘Dust to Dust’ sound brilliant in a studio setting, and they translate well to a stage, if slightly losing some of the echoes and reverb necessary for a true atmospheric experience. This is gentle, understated music, a slow burning fuse that never blows up to a full crescendo. Charlotte’s vocals have a delicious, mesmerising quality about them and remind you of Cocteau Twins and Elizabeth Taylor (who worked with This Mortal Coil).
What a delight Hans Pucket were. I have never seen this outfit perform led by brothers Oli and Callum Devlin but how much fun were they on stage!? Essentially they are a very clever Orientation style band, with tunes like “Fuck My Life” and “Comfort” with constructs of pop, punk, funk and even jazz. The band pumped up by a drummer and keyboardist who regularly swap around duties and even indulge in a little sax, and full of energy, vibrant riffs and wazzy jams.
They sing “Happy Birthday” to friends in the audience, as an intro to their tune “Old U vs the New U”. They also whip out a few apparent newbies including the groovy ‘Misery Loves Company’ which is the opposite of what it says on the tin – it is a joyous funk fest.
During ‘’Comfort”, Callum’s guitar pedal throws a hissy fit. Olli gets the crowd to sing along a capella to the chorus while the roadies scramble to repair the damage. No one even notices when he comes back online – they are all too busy singing at the top of their voices.
Naturally, Mermaidens close the gig with a stunning set of old and new material. Afterall, this is their show – arranged and sponsored by the band. Oddly, it is a short appearance.
They kick off with a well-played favourite, 2016’s ‘Undergrowth’, followed by ‘I Might Disappear’. Then the new one ‘Soft Energy’, a bright and spritely pop tune with overtones of Eurovision sparkle. Drummer Abe Hollingsworth garners a few laughs when he discards his shirt to reveal another leather bondage harness strapped around his torso.
They drift into ‘Wander’, from the ‘Undergrowth’ album and then a new track ‘Sour Lips’. This reveals more of the bands new, sparkling pop direction. However, they are not likely to go full-Abba. There is still a dark groove, with Hollingsworth’s stumbling kinetic drumming, mountains of guitar grunge, and Gussie Larkin and Lilly West’s dark angel harmonizing. The champagne rock pools of wild guitar strafes are back on another tune, the new to my ears ‘Tear It Down’.
Another favourite – ‘Under the Mountain II’ gets a huge cheer. A hypnotising new tune called ‘Highly Strung’ makes an appearance, followed by ‘She’s Running’, from 2019’s highly acclaimed ‘Look Me In The Eye’ album.
More new material, with the ambient plea for solace, ‘I like To Be Alone’, and the epic closer ‘Cold Skin’, which builds like the ending of a murder film, into a storm of disturbing, swirling wall of sound. A perfect ending to a brilliant day out.
The festival T-shirt I bagged from the merch tent says ‘’Second Time Lucky 2021”. A sentiment of many this week. When we all went into Level 2/3 lockdown on Sunday, who could have predicted this outcome. Many high-profile gigs, like the Napier Art Deco Week had to cancelled. These times being what they are, we are constantly reminded of how lucky we are to have any gigs to attend when the rest of the world cannot. But I also want to salute those brave organisers, big and small, who like Mermaidens, ploughed on, despite the odds, to give us all fantastic events and help us remember why we love live music so much.
Huge thanks to Mermaidens for taking this risk. Mermgrown is now a thing worthy of FOMO. If you are in Auckland, I recommend you check it out when it comes to town next month. It’ll be well worth it.
Were you there at The Workingmen’s Bowling Club in Wellington for this magnificent indie festival? Or have you seen any of the acts perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: [AD] Mermaidens provided passes to Ambient Light 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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Well done team