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Talent recognises talent, it seems, because Kiwi band Mermaidens — made up of Gussie Larkin, Lily West and Abe Hollingsworth — were established after discovering a mutual love for one popular singer-songwriter.
Larkin and West — who started making music with each other in their teenage years — reveal they first teamed up for a simple reason, “We had like clocked each other at high school,” West chuckles, “Like, ‘oh, she likes cool music, she likes PJ Harvey. I want to be friends with her’.”
An immediate bond with the Down By The Water singer resulted in the young Kiwi musicians first dabbling in acoustic-sounding music, but as they grew more comfortable in their sound, they became more alternative and indie sounding. “We wanted to make something together that aligned with our hopes and dreams of being PJ Harvey or something,” West said with a laugh.
In the 10 years since Mermaidens started jamming together, the trio have gone from strength to strength. With Larkin on guitar and vocals, West on bass and vocals, and Abe Hollingsworth on drums, they’ve released three — soon to be four — albums, toured internationally and have many impressive accolades including winning an Aotearoa Music Award.
It’s a huge number of achievements for the band, and the secret to their success may come down to the fact they’re not particularly worried about what the world thinks of them. “We’re very self-driven,” West says. “We’re all about the output.”
Their authenticity is something that couldn’t be more clear in their music, their designs, even their merchandise, and it’s perhaps their Kiwi ingenuity that strikes a chord with New Zealand music lovers, but it’s not the only reason.
Larkin says while the band’s past albums aren’t all that “Kiwi” — something that will change slightly with the next one — she and West believe their creations appeal to fans because of their “honest” approach to their art.
“I think the band, because we’re self-taught as well, has this very honest, kind of almost-naive grunginess and subversiveness. We’re always playing with dissonance and darkness, like dark and light, and I feel like that really Aotearoa creative ethos, is kind of a bit more subversive.”
It’s something they will both carry over and slightly change for their self-titled fourth album — which has been a product of the band’s tireless creative efforts between 2019 and 2022.
Mermaidens members Gussie Larkin (left), Abe Hollingsworth and Lily West. Photo / Sarah Burton
“There’s a real side A, side B,” West explains of the album, which comes out on November 3. “We’ve kind of split the record into these two mental spaces and people can take a journey from this very loud, boisterous and poppy beginning to this very like almost slow and experimental dark end.”
As for how they want their fans to listen to the new tracks, Larkin says, “I’ve been told a few times that people will intentionally go on a misty bush walk and listen to our music and have their feelings which is a huge compliment.”
Ultimately, they want fans to hear everything, Larkin explains, “the lyrics are a really exciting part and the vinyl packaging, Lily designed an amazing poster of the lyrics and that’s with the intention of people actually reading them.” The pair laugh.
Whether you are new fans of Mermaidens, or veteran listeners, it’s not hard to be captivated by their creative vision. It’s how they won their Best Album Art Aotearoa Music Award in 2020.
Admitting it’s less about control and more about loving the link between sound and vision, West explains, “I think because we’re all very creative and also very visual people as well as being music, it’s just perfect that we can play with that visual space.”
The approach has become a recognisable characteristic for the band. “People always give such great feedback about our artwork and merch,” Larkin proudly gushes over her bandmate’s talent, adding, “that’s also reason for Lily to keep doing it and also with music videos, which we’ve mainly created all ourselves, they recognise the brand and they’re excited to see it like ‘oh, another great music video we get the tone!’.”
“We often talk about the world of the album or the world of the band and you can’t have that without pretty pictures,” West grins.
That brand is something fans will have the opportunity to experience this summer as Mermaidens have recently announced four-date tour throughout the country. With shows in Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and finally, Wellington, they’re excited to show off their new album.
As for any summer festivals? They giggle as they joke, “We’ve done all the festivals and now they won’t have us.”
