Pearly* & Cruelly + Salt Water Criminals -Whammy Bar: July 24, 2025
The 13th Floor’s Simon Coffey has had a very busy week…Friday night found him at Whammy Bar to catch Pearly*, Salt Water Criminals and Cruelly.
Otepoti band Pearly* created a buzz at last month’s Junk Festival, playing in the Whammy Public Bar, a space far too dinky for the multitude of the ‘interested’ trying to catch a glimpse. I’d also see them at Lyttelton’s (outstanding) Port Noise Festival in March, again, in a room crammed to the hilt. Meanwhile, Te Whanganui-a-Tara post-grunge-gazers Cruelly created ripples with their late 2024’s Ugly Behaviour EP, but sadly though, on this visit, Amber, Sam, Ben & Milan didn’t bring the fifth member of their group, Ozzy (the cat) with them to Tamaki Makaurau. And to round out that good things come in threes, (now resident) locals Salt Water Criminals were added late to the bill for tonight’s show at Whammy Bar.
On the coldest day so far on Karangahape Rd, a crowd of those in the know arrived early, including local luminaries from bands on the lips of many: Awning, Ringlets, Swallow The Rat and Cold Ceiling to name drop a few. The bar staff were friendly, the Asahi’s only $10, and I saw familiar faces to huddle and bullwah with before…
Salt Water Criminals
Are based around Otepoti original Reuben Scott, with a kete of releases back to 2021, topped off by this year’s sophomore album I Believe In Dog. Joined by three others, their first song starts abruptly, noisily, it draws the punter in quickly, and its fuzz-janglistic riffs are finished, and excused, as Scott admits he likely had played out of tune. Hell! I thought it sounded great!
Salt Water Criminals seems a little sloppy, but their brand of low-fi, alt-pop, think Jonathan Richmond, can bear the disharmony, in particular when their energy level rises and the residue of punk comes to the forefront. Tonight’s set is balanced between the timid and the tumultuous, satisfying all in the room, though the odd song here and there is precipitously on the edge of M.o.R. pop (think The Beths) but is that a feign or a flaw? Waifs of Mrs Brightside (Killers) come from (the) Double Whammy (private party) creating momentary mirth mid-set. Scott has a velvety drawl on his angst-fueled lyrics, and a monopoly too, perhaps others in the band could add another dimension to some songs. It’s a punchy 30min set, all up and people in the room are simply-thrilled.
Cruelly
Equally as vociferous were Cruelly, with little aplomb, they threw themselves into the night. A four-piece, 2+2, singer/guitarist Haylee was resplendent in her dark red hair, flowing gothic dress, and Doctor Marten Boots, while Amber was the best apparelled bassist in the whare, as she belted out accompanying BVs.
Cruelly are rooted in grunge, and most definitely since their formation in 2022, have evolved taking onboard elements of shoegaze and pysch into their sound. Their billing tonight with Pearly* is not unexpected, as they history of gigging with them (and Dale Kerrigan, a band Pearly* have a common membership with) Thus as they worked through a set that drew from newer material through to earlier releases, there was a dynamic that interplayed with the audience. Haylee’s playful chatter with the room somewhat masked her angular vocal delivery, reminiscent of Courtney Love and other female-fronted acts of past years such as The Nymphs.
Though at the end of it,, it must be said that the newer songs reeked of doomish influence, perhaps a consequence of the mingling of past and present influences. It will be intriguing to hear any coming releases, to see how Cruelly have further perfected their sound.
Pearly*
Expectations are raised, and the room refills as final tunings fade. Pearly* feature binate singer/songwriters Joel Field and Phaedra Love, this duality is a dominating feature of the band’s sound. Whilst Love’s vocal style is rich and refined, Field’s is angst, gaunt and colloquial. Singularly this may create complacency, but the intermix live, creates a welcome dynamic that sits snuggly within their musical narratives, that straddle between (but not just) alt-indie pop and garage-punk.
Alongside Ryan Hill (guitar) and Josh Nicholls (drums), Field and Love deliver a compact set of songs, new and old, including Superglue the lead song from their debut album Not So Sweet, due out next month on Flying Nun Records, that flows on waves of melodica indie and tantrum punkishness. The contrast is further formed as Field contorts and utilises his figure to exacerbate his delivery, whilst Love is more reserved, controlled, and caressing. There are elements of classic Flying Nun whakapapa, think The Rip, Snapper, The 3D’s, but Pearly* are not confined by history and geography; a sense of refreshing modernism underlies their energy and composition.
It’s quite a short set, I suspect, with Not So Sweet being released soon, another visit to Tamaki Makaurau is likely on the cards. Pearly* finished off the night with a delightful, standout, melodic jangle punk song that features a duet-like dual or is that dual-like duet, that left the crowd wanting more. Watch This Space.
Simon Coffey
Pearly*:
