Napoleon Baby – Live at the Rose Theatre EP (13th Floor Album Review)
Auckland indie-rock outfit Napoleon Baby have released a 5-track EP, Live at Rose Theatre recorded at the Belmont venue in November 2025 following on from their well-received debut long player Everybody’s Watching and Nobody Cares put out last year.
This is the third EP from the band, reworking songs from the 11-track album favourably reviewed by Chantal Janice for 13th Floor. Janice said “Napoleon Baby has already discovered, and made steps, towards mastering their niche with this record.”
The songs are current, socially aware and straying into political commentary: Napoleon are not short of ideas when it comes to society at large.
Speaking to 13th Floor’s Marty Duda in May 2025, frontman, singer, guitarist and songwriter Daniel Jones, originally from London who now calls Tāmaki Makaurau home, said he thought it important to be socially conscious.
“We want our songs to mean something, we want our songs to have something to say,” he explained. “I’m not saying we have a big platform, but if we did we’d definitely be more socially and politically aware.”
Jones describes Napoleon’s sound as a cross between Radiohead and The Stooges with a bit of St Vincent and Queen’s of the Stone Age thrown in for good measure, but is happy to be lumped in with most bands with an aggressive bent.
“We’re a mess,” he said.
Listening to the three-piece’s music they’re far from a mess, delivering punchy, well-crafted numbers with tight, controlled delivery.
On this release they include the saxophone of Shane Warman to Jones’ singing and guitar, the bass of Jesse Gush, and Ollie Abeln’s drums.
Regular drummer Jamie Leaver stayed in Europe after their tour in 2025, but the band hopes to be reunited soon. “We miss him,” Jones said.
Adding to Jones’ description you could say they channel the cynical energy of the Arctic Monkeys, the raw power of Nick Cave or Echo and the Bunnymen and the musicality of Muse (sans operatics).
Being live recordings they’re not as polished as the album versions, but that adds to the spirit of the songs, adding intensity and vitality and plenty of feedback. Plus you get the full dynamic experience of a band in the throws of performance: strength, energy and hushed moments broken by roaring crescendos with the addition of a sax bringing increased depth and layering to the sound.
The technical stuff is flawless with clarity and mix spot-on by Gwyn Williams with filming at The Rose by Matthew Diesh.
But apart from the occasional bum note, drum skips and that howlingly beautiful distortion loop, there’s nothing really to say this is one-take, no second-chances in front of a live audience EP: no cheering; no clapping; no ascerbic, engaging running commentary from the leader of the band.
Napoleon Baby sound like a band that should be seen live. It’s said that the next best thing to being there is listening to a live recording: this is that thing.
Alex Robertson
Live at the Rose Theatre is out now.
Napoleon Baby will celebrate the release with a live performance at Ponsonby Social Club on February 13th, with support from Echomatica and Mema Wilda.
