Mermaidens Announce ‘Soft Energy’ Tour
Beloved Pōneke trio Mermaidens have today announced a nationwide tour in support of their soon-to-be-released single, ‘Soft Energy’.
Gussie Larkin, Lily West and Abe Hollingsworth have spent their summer in the studio, hard at work, road-testing an assortment of new material that they’re itching to share with fans from sunny Tāmaki Makaurau right down to mighty Ōtepoti (playing seven dates in total).
Think more glitter, think more pop, think Mermaidens like you’ve never seen them before…
”The three of us have spent the past couple of months making a racket both in our practice space and in a recording studio. We weren’t exactly expecting it but, these noises turned into songs! And now we get to play them live to the best people in the world,” says Gussie.
”We’re also looking forward to hitting up all the op shops, eating southern cheese rolls and trying to be as tourist-y as a rock tour allows.”
Two of the seven dates will see the band play their own festival – Mermgrown – which is being held in both Tāmaki and Pōneke. Having been postponed in 2020 due to unfolding pandemic, the excitement for these long-awaited fests is real! (note: Wellington has already sold out).
Gussie says those who have their tickets locked down should get set to be “IMPRESSED!”.
”Both Pōneke and Tāmaki fests are chocka with amazing New Zealand bands that we love.”
”Mermgrown in Tāmaki will be more of a late-night affair, with three stages across Whammy, Wine Cellar and Backroom. We’re very excited for the return of Kane Strang, because we are HUGE fans and we’ll be singing all the words. The music will go deep into the night, with some hot DJ’s for the doof doof fiends. We’ll see you on the d floor,” she adds.
School-aged Merm fans will also rejoice over the news that the show in Palmerston North will be all ages.
As for the upcoming single – it was recorded at The Surgery, produced by Samuel Flynn Scott (The Phoenix Foundation), and will absolutely leave you wanting to rock out to it live and in the flesh.
Tickets for both Mermgrown and the Soft Energy tour are on-sale now via Undertheradar.
SOFT ENERGY TOUR DATES
Saturday February 20 – Wellington – Mermgrown Festival
Friday March 5 – Palmerston North – The Stomach (All Ages)
Thursday March 11 – Christchurch – Cassel’s Blue Smoke
Friday March 12 – Dunedin – Dive
Saturday March 13 – Oamaru – Settler Theatre
Saturday March 20 – Auckland – Mermgrown Festival (whammy/wine cellar/backroom)
Saturday April 3 – Napier – Paisley Stage
ABOUT MERMAIDENS
The earliest sketches of Wellington trio Mermaidens, follows the story arch of how most bands start; through long-term friendship and bonding over music that shaped their salad days. For Mermaidens, it was an eclectic melting pot of PJ Harvey, Warpaint and Fugazi to name a few.
Together, childhood friends Gussie Larkin (guitar/co-lead vocals), Lily West (bass/co-lead vocals) and Abe Hollingsworth (drums) form a powerful trinity of unwavering creativity and relentless work ethic. Their time together as Mermaidens has been a fruitful one; a timeline consisting of two critically acclaimed albums, being signed to iconic indie label Flying Nun Records, getting nominated for an Aotearoa Music Award and a wide range of live supports that include Sleater Kinney, Death Cab for Cutie, Lorde, Mac DeMarco and The Veils.
The internationally acclaimed Perfect Body (which drew a 2018 Taite Music Prize nomination) saw their circle of influence expand to a new, global audience. With its progressive and cinematic stylings on angular post-punk and grunge, Gold Flake Paint said the record “should prove to be one of the summer’s most brilliant long-players,” while long-time music critic Graham Reid of Elsewhere confirmed it as “a real listening experience.” But perhaps it was God Is In The TV that explained the commanding presence of the record best by saying “I can quite believe that some of their tracks have mystical properties.”
Dancing in the lively afterglow of Perfect Body, Mermaidens’ internationally acclaimed Flying Nun debut, a new flame burned. The Wellington-based trio now approach 2019 with an eagerly awaited follow up, Look Me In The Eye. It is Mermaidens louder, more crushing and propulsive than ever. They are in their element, and at their most raw and confronting.
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