Ringlets – Whammy Bar: August 9, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
The 13th Floor’s Simon Coffey takes in Ringlets as they celebrate their new album at Whammy.
I was first exposed to Ringlets when they opened for seminal UK punk band The Damned back in 2023, I’d registered the name, though they had been knockin’ around since 2021, a post-Covid entity so to speak. 2023 was the same year they released their nominative album Ringlets, shards of which offered glimpses into the group’s potential, and gained attention from overseas luminaries (which always excites young folk)
Two years on with a stepping-stone, stand-alone 7” New Life released in 2024 (though as the contrarian some say I be, I thought the b-side Scam Me was the lodestone. Weirdly, adroitly, it is now a ‘dialogue cut’ on bandcamp, and not available on Spotify) on the way. Ringlets (Leith – vocals, Arabella – bass, vocals, László – guitars, vocals & Arlo – drums) hit back with their sophomore album The Lord is My German Shepherd (Time For Walkies) produced by ex Mint Chicks/Die Die Die member Michael Logie, led by a slew of singles Heavenly Wheel, Street Massage & I Was on That Roof Once, catching attention and creating anticipation in tandem.
It’s a sell-out, on a bitterly cold Tamaki Makaurau night, Whammy Bar was jammed, rammed, as tonight was the end of Ringlets first Aotearoa Tour since 2023 (they’d played a few festivals though), the crowd was their fans, usual suspects, local musicians and soon to be OAPs. A ramshackle video screen sat at the back of the stage, flickering, while really rather cool tunes blasted out, meanwhile people lied about their lives, and burgeoned their anticipation.
Community Treatment Order
I’d reviewed recently, whence they opened for (killer) Italian visitors New Candys, and their appearance at the 95bFM Fancy New Band show in May had wowed many. A five-piece, Community Treatment Order are action onstage, throughout a set that lurched from punk-rapido-rock to Americana-punk-melodies, two, no three facets of the band’s signature abounded: The singer (I should have asked his moniker) had a rich crooner-like voice, that was smooth and intimate, taonga! Action!
It was non-stop motion onstage, disjointed, not in motion, and at times distracting, it’s as if all the members had withdrawn into their very own reality, yet aurally it worked, a testament to the band’s connectivity. Thirdly, and I hinted at this already, the Americana immersed punk melodies, Community Treatment Order, these songs were THE shit.
Ringlets
They’ve lost the singer, he was at the bar, the band has already started, the pantomime worked. As Ringlets immersed the heaving room with ambience, the two-year lead up to The Lord is My German Shepherd (Time For Walkies) had wetted appetites. The night was about the new album, and Leigh alludes to this early on. The band’s performance oscillates, between (in minor) the rambunctious post-punk of the band’s genesis, and (in major) the finessed sounds that the ordeal of time has mentored them in.
Off the back of dates around the nga motu, Ringlets band members are acting in unison, and with the great mahi by their soundtech, truly, possibly, it sounded the best I’d ever seen them. Arabella’s bass playing delivers driven deep tones that fill and append the others’ efforts, and as in the past, when, on vocal lead, she and the song itself are a highlight. (Could/should a side hustle (band) be plausible?) It’s apparent mid-set, the divergence between album and live versions of songs from the new album. On vinyl, the songs have finesse and balance (the use of synth and harmonious backing vocals) created ambient listening energy. Live, though, there is a ragged, darker, severe delivery, that works the room actively, avoiding the passiveness of past efforts.
There was a congruence between Leith and László, not just as singers, but as troubadours. The chat and wit was measured, mirthful and matching, no dead air, there was a sense of being comfortable in their skins tonight (the touring effect?) Towards the end a groove came to the fore, through the dual-vocals, the ringing guitar hooks, and avoidance of haste, this felt like a hat tip to post-punk acts the likes of Suede and (early) REM (László did end up referencing Michael Stipe) We got two (demanded) encore songs, and the delightful scene of Leith holding, shaking hands with drummer – Arlo, I hoped he was being thanked for his efforts. The songs were the long and the short of it, the two sides of contemporary Ringlets. Cheers ushered the four off stage.
A question is, you ask, what songs did they play? That was the elegance of the night, the complete collection (performance) was the taonga tonight, not the short stories themselves. The real question is, where do Ringlets want to go? Maybe we’ll know in another two years!
Simon Coffey
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