Radio One 91FM

Imagine my excitement when the now-legendary six-piece British rock band announced that they would be playing in my hometown. My bank account immediately hollowed out as I paid for a couple of tickets to see Black Country New Road and flights to Wellywood, but it’d be worth it; not just to escape the pits of despair (library lock-ins) for a couple of days, but to see if the sextet sounds as harmonic in person as they do in the studio recordings.

How did they stack up? In short, to quote the track Socks off from BCNR’s third album, Forever Howlong (2025), “I’m having a whale of a time”. In long, the band showed off their newest material in a passionate and operatic performance, oozing with skilled instrumentals and beautiful vocal performances.

I only caught the latter half of the opening act, Ringlets, a post-punk four-piece from Tāmaki Makarau, who performed at Laneway earlier this year. I ended up being a bit sad that I arrived near the end, because the second I made it into the pit, the energy was invigorating!

From what I gathered, they were mostly playing songs from their recent album, The Lord Is My German Shepherd (Time for Walkies), which is punchy and jangly and features some undoubtedly scuzzy yet refined songwriting. Leith Towers’ vocals were quite harrowing and were the perfect accoutrement to bassist Arabella Poulsen’s pronounced, driving basslines in the song Heavenly Wheel. Before the gig, I wasn’t aware of the fact that they existed, nor that they were performing before BCNR, but I think I’ve got a new favorite Tāmaki band.

After the departure of lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Woods in 2022, a few days before the release of their second album, Ants From Up There (2022), BCNR decided to only play music written after their sophomore album. Unfortunately, this meant that we didn’t hear the rising, saxophone-led overture of Intro (you may recognize this from countless TikTok edits) as I was hoping for. We did, however, get treated to a killer cover of Wings’ Band on the Run, sung by Lewis Evans and May Kershaw. Meow Nui was instantly captured by Charlie Wayne’s punchy drumming, Luke Mark’s tight guitar riffs, Georgia Ellery’s nuanced backing vocals, and Tyler Hyde’s playful and experimental basslines.

I’m more of a recent fan of BCNR, having only really gotten into them just before the release of Forever Howlong. It never really entered my mind to do that much research into the band before the tour, which, in a way, was a blessing in disguise- there were tons of surprises to be had. The main surprise- which can’t be undersold- was how incredibly multitalented each member of the band was. It’s sort of hard to pin any of BCNR’s members as being primarily one instrument or another. There was a minimum of two instruments played by one person throughout the performance, reaching a shockingly high maximum of five. It would take an entire whiteboard to plot out who changed instruments, so I’ll have to spotlight the moments that most impressed me.

For the ethereal, vocal-heavy Mary, Wayne put down the drumsticks and picked up a banjo hidden behind the mass of equipment, allowing the crowd the opportunity to immerse themselves in the vocal harmonies of Hyde, Ellery, and Kershaw. In addition to their incredible vocals, they each used a multitude of instruments. Ellery masterfully swapped back and forth between the violin and the mandolin. The standout for me was Tyler Hyde, who effortlessly made use of the bass, the acoustic guitar, and the piano. The first moment that left me speechless was when Meow Nui’s acoustics filled with the sustained grandiose sound of her bowing the bass guitar while knelt on the edge of the stage during their powerful concert-like performance of Nancy Tries to Take the Night.

The second time that took my breath away was when the entire band dropped their instruments, and seemingly manifested tenor recorders into their hands for their penultimate song: Forever Howlong- the only exception being May Kershaw, who stood up from the keys that she had been stationed at for the greater part of the night, and picked up an accordion. Until then, I had only heard recorders from my (awful) primary school class recorder lessons and had no idea that they could sound good. The band played a 5-part recorder polyphony that was raw and sublime, which lifted Kershaw’s heartfelt and sensitive singing in a subtle but powerful way.

The band performed the song Strangers, which was recently released on the charity album Help(2), by War Child Records, which aims to raise funds for children living through war. Help(2) contains songs from artists such as Big Thief, Cameron Winter, Depeche Mode, Damon Albarn, and Fontaines D.C.

The gig was full of fun vibes and energy, and it seemed like practically every alternative person in Wellington had come to town to watch the band. The crowd’s energy peaked when we all heard the start of Forever Howlong’s catchy opening track, Besties, which kicked off the new era of Black Country New Road. At one point, the entire crowd joined in arms to sing Happy Birthday (not the song off of the album, just the classic, sing-it-at-a-party Happy Birthday) to Charlie Wayne, who played along for a bit before telling us all that we were 3 months away from his actual birthday and that we clapped 6 times too many for the years. They ended the set on a high note, with their song Happy Birthday (for real this time!), which was jazzy and showcased every member of BCNR’s instrumental expertise.

Black Country New Road was an utterly immersive and joyful experience, and I thoroughly recommend seeing them the next time they come back to Aotearoa.

ALBUM REVIEW: Shuv-it (Nelson) - Erode
review by Ethan Montañer Mar 9th 2026

Whakatū Nelson’s hardcore punk outfit Shuv-it have finally arrived with their debut full length, Erode.
The opening track “Shuv-it” is a mission statement, showcasing the band’s lyrical style that is unapologetically motivational and full of heart: “I’ll face this moment and then tower above it”. This combination of lyrics, riffs, mosh parts and sing-a-longs makes Erode feel like a hit of adrenaline that you can only get at a Shuv-it show.

Clocking in at just under 20 minutes, the band manages to pack a surprising amount of variety while staying laser focused, and Sam Edmonds’ striking vocal delivery seamlessly flows between melodic screams and almost rap-like yells. The album’s second half is an impressive showcase of features. Shuriken (WLG), Martial Law (Hamilton) and Sawnoff (Nelson) up the heaviness with some vocal contributions; post-rock band Distance (CHCH) provides a moody ambient interlude, and DJ MRD’s (US) scratching is a surprising but welcome addition.

Erode is a perfect showcase of Shuv-it’s live energy and impactful songwriting, and is ultimately just a fun listen. If you’re a fan of riffs, moshing, and having a good time, this album might be just the thing for you.

The day begins with our eternally burning life-giver, a sun that was coming down with full February force. An event where the free sunscreen being handed out was nectar from empathetic gods. Mother nature had set this gorgeous stage, but would the performers live up to the absolute pearler of a day provided?

The first act we got along to was Ringlets, Tamaki Makaurau post-punk quartet who I was listening to mostly entirely fresh. It’s never an enviable position to be one of the first bands on stage at such a festival, but to the credit of those attending, the crowd was already pretty sizeable even at this, the smaller Harikoa stage, tucked away down an alley we almost missed the first time.

The band sounded bright and punchy, starting a trend of what was generally ace mixing on all the performances I saw, and they had a real energy that defied their place in the lineup. Frontman Leith Towers looks like he’s always having a rollicking time on stage and that was great to see. Good shorts, too.

From there we ran over to the Everything Ecstatic stage to catch the second half of Mokotron, who puts on a brilliantly idiosyncratic mix of EDM and live instrumentation, pulling out multiple woodwind pieces to accentuate the driving rhythms. The crowd loved this, and even more so the call and response segment of “fuck David Seymour!” – simple, but effective. It was a set that perhaps would’ve been more at home under the cover of night with a few more beverages in everyone, but it still popped off here as still more people filtered into Western Springs.

Being strategic and already a little wiped out by the pulsing of the sun and Mokotron in equal parts, we headed back to Harikoa to have a sit down in the shade (a precious commodity, sometimes frustratingly so), and vibe out to Womb, another Flying Nun outfit from Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. It reminded me of sitting on the hill taking a break and vibing to Slowdive at the 2017 festival, and I do mean that as a compliment. Angelic vocals and gossamer vibes on these guys.

Back to Everything Ecstatic and we caught the very tail end of Wisp’s set, enough to make an intrigued future listener of friend Jacob – often one of the positive effects of the busy and varied lineups of big festivals.

Then we split for the first time – the folks I was with going off to see Alex G (whom I love but have seen before and it was...messy), and myself hanging around to see Oklou. She was simply fantastic. Her voice was gorgeous, she integrated the few pieces of live instrumentation really nicely with the majority electronic set, and she had a shy-but-bubbly stage personality that complements her music so well. I really loved this set, felt it stood out as something unique, and it was sneakily my favourite of the day – don’t tell my fellow Geese-heads.

The Dare was next on the Everything Ecstatic stage and I met back up with the gang to watch him. This was the big surprise of the day for me, not that his performance was wild and committed, or that he had some of the loudest tunes of the festival with his huge stacks of Marshall amps, but more that his crowd was so packed and people knew it so well. He has such a perplexing vibe that afterwards a friend I was with was trying to pinpoint how serious (or otherwise) his whole schtick is – I think the fun of it is in not knowing, but he really does strike me as the LCD Soundsystem for a new generation. Sadly, to make sure we got a decent spot to see Geese we left a little early and didn’t catch his crowning banger “Girls”, but I heard it went all the way off.

Now Geese were playing on Harikoa, which brings me to my first (very minor) gripe with the day. Geese may well have been booked before the release of Getting Killed, the album that catapulted them into the forefront of rock culture – which unfortunately meant they were on a stage that was never going to accommodate the size of their rapidly growing audience. The flow of people was so great that staff actually had to police the entrance to the stage area and ensure there wasn’t a crush – they did this well though, and it reflected a refreshing level of preparedness by the festival organisers during a time when many festivals are copping serious flak for not putting that kind of work in.

It was, however, such a gorgeous day and people were in such high spirits that a minor hiccup was never going to kill the buzz that was building for Geese. When expectations are this sky-high for a band, it’s easy to imagine them not quite living up to the billing – but Geese delivered on all fronts.

A stranger I had been chatting with before they played who was unfamiliar (but had heard all about them) tapped my shoulder halfway through the set and yelled “I get it now! And isn’t it great to see people having this much fun!” And there she summed it up perfectly – it was genuinely warming to see people having that much fun together. The individual high point of the day for me was during their closer, Trinidad, where hundreds if not thousands of people were yelling “THERE’S A BOMB IN MY CAR” together. Bizarre, unifying, euphoric.

In preparation for what was going to be the big spectacle of the day, the final two sets over on the Good, Better, Best stage, we sat around to recharge, have a drink, just chill for a bit. In that time multiple groups of lovely strangers came over to chat about this and that, and I take the time to mention this because it’s reflective of how noticeably friendly this iteration of Laneway Was.

And I think that was in no small part down to the headliner. Before that though we caught most of Wolf Alice’s set, who didn’t shrink away from being the preceding act to the drawcard at all. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell paraded around the stage with such a swagger, and when she pulled out a megaphone it felt like a throwback to the best of the 2000s era femme-rock, something that Karen O might look at and think “fuck yeah”. Loved it.

But the whole time people are pouring into the stadium section of the grounds, just a blur of pink cowboy hats and boots almost vibrating with anticipation. To say Chappell Roan has a dedicated fan base would be underselling it. As the sun sunk slowly behind the stage and created a dazzling pink sunset, it felt like this was a set almost ordained by fate, one that even the sky and the land were doing their best to accommodate.

She was incredible. I won’t lie and say I’m the most qualified person to tell you how good a Chappell Roan set was, but it was one that swayed effortlessly from grandeur to intimacy, from banger to ballad and back again. It was a supermassive pop star performing a set that felt larger than life, and brilliant to see an artist with top billing producing a performance that had the polish, sheen and sheer oomph deserving of that billing.

As people dispersed outward from Western Springs, there was a mood of summery elation that was practically without exception. It had been an event that was warm on the skin, warm on the soul, overwhelmingly welcoming and incredibly safe given the scale of it. I’m only sorry I couldn’t get around more of it, but I heard from fans of every act present that they were incredibly happy with whichever performance they were most looking forward to.

If Laneway had been in a down period for a few years after being rained out in 2023, it was certainly back in force this year, at least from everything I saw. Just a fantastic and affirming day out.

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Credit: Jakira Brophy (@jakira.art)

Ōtepoti avant-rock superstars High Dependency Unit (HDU) have emerged for the first time in 9 years, their Dunedin show being # 2 of 6 shows.

The night was warmish and drizzly, Dropkicks was packed. The crowd was mostly over 40, all long time family, friends and fans: it felt like a big reunion. Cecil Turbine opened, looking all busy behind his laptop and gigantic synth with a thousand patch cables hanging out of it.

He played for about half an hour? Before HDU front man Tristan Dingemans came out in a slight huff, informing the crowd the amps hadn’t been turned on and we’d have to wait another 20 minutes. By this point it was nearly shoulder to shoulder right to the back wall.

Playing for close to two hours, they alternated between ambient soundscapes and big, epic riffs. It was so loud. Before they started I saw the drummer Constantine Karlis tell the bouncer up the front to go get ear plugs: HDU are known for that ‘in your bones’ kind of loud. The overarching dynamics of the show made it feel like an ever evolving, holistic thing from start to finish. They stopped to switch guitars or tune and have a yarn now and again.

Tristan’s performance could only be described as a shamanistic ritual of catharsis. Sweaty and veiny, his conviction was raw. The crowd was totally entranced too: lots of eyes-closed, meditative swaying and smiling. Karlis had us all hypnotised and Niel Phillips kept it locked in with his steady and true bass playing. Mid-way through they played Crow by Shellac, in tribute to the late Steve Albini. Tristan thanked Steve for the time they spent with him and for “changing their lives” (paraphrasing).

HDU are amazing and that show was a total sonic experience, can thoroughly recommend trying to catch this rare beast at some point on their current tour; you’ve got until the end of the month!

Credit: Liam Hoffman

Credit: Liam Hoffman

Credit: Liam Hoffman

Credit: Liam Hoffman

Credit: Liam Hoffman

Honestly, there is nothing more enjoyable than watching a crowd of mostly inebriated patrons try and bob and sway to a ¾ rhythm. And as it often is at the Crown, rhythm and movement was the name of the night. With a fully packed out crowd eager to vibe as much as the space allowed, the bands involved absolutely obliged. 

Opening up were Dale Kerrigan, and credit to the scene, the room was already packed. Armed with a handful of new pieces of material and the same raucous energy, they set the tone and they set it loud and fuzzy. Their new EP was sounding great, with some real evolution going on, and by the end of their set the room was already full of that warm buzz that makes for a great platform for the headliners. Job done, and job done well.

Outside for a quick inhalation-of-your-choice break, and the weather was as feisty as the sounds. Few complaints here and there but for me, the perfect pairing, like a cold plunge into a sauna into a cold plunge. Special shout out here to the bloke who spent 10 minutes pitching the first 10 seconds of his new Batman trilogy. “He’s 6’4”, but he’s wearing the trunks”. Ace.

Back into the cauldron for Cruelly, a grungy Te Whanganui a Tara-based quartet with a history of gigging with Pearly* and Dale Kerrigan - first time in our corner of the country though, and what better venue to cut your teeth on. Possibly just edging out the other two bands as the most 90s tinged of the lot, they brought their own flavour with some gorgeous harmonies and some much appreciated switch ups in their time signatures. 

They had the crowd on a string, sometimes held loosely and then tautened within the same minute. With many patrons a few pints in, the timing of the collective bobbing and swaying often threatened to fall apart completely, only to be roped right back into line by a blazing chorus section. A real ebb and flow to their tunes, reminiscent of the best Hole tracks. Major shout out to their rhythm section.

A quick mass exodus out into the elements once more for the sweat to melt into the rain, and then an even quicker pile back in when the tuning sounds heralded the arrival of Pearly*.

And what an arrival. I may be running out of synonyms for fuzzy here towards the end but their set was like a hug of warm static. Tight in performance, loose in affect, it was everything the crowd needed to properly shrug off the dust of their week. Standing in the centre of the crowd I could visibly see tension rolling off of people’s shoulders as they sunk into the sonic haze. 

All in all a credit to the bands and a credit to the sound engineering, just a resoundingly toasty gig to spite the wind and the rain. Another jewel in the Crown!

Photo credits https://dunedinsound.com/gigs/