Fans frequently talk about favourite musicians who have an ‘Old Soul’, but it’s not often that someone fits the bill so quintessentially as Laura Marling. In her first New Zealand headlining performance, she proved the validity of her fans claims of ‘voice of a generation’ and her range as a songwriter.
Tiny Ruins’ Hollie Fulbrook commenced the show with a soulful, solo-acoustic set – a perfect opening act, successfully setting the tone for the night. She pulled guitarist Tom Healy up to add an extra layer to her last few songs and left the crowd wired.
The turnaround between artists was quick and Marling and Co’s (Drums - Matt Ingrim, Bass - Nick Pini) entrance was unassuming, almost nonchalant. They launched straight into Breath and played through their first couple of numbers before Marling addressed the crowd with a rather endearing “Hello, I’m Laura”.
The trio progressed quickly through an hour and a half of material, pulled in varied order from all five of Marling’s records, though Alas I Cannot Swim was the only appearance from her first album. When a wee issue arose with an out-of-tune guitar, Marling called on Ingrim to tell the audience about the Auckland haircut he’d received earlier that day from a drunk barber.
As the show wound down, Marling lamented that though this tour was in support of her newest album A Short Movie, they had barely played any material from it. There were no complaints from the audience though, as the show overall managed to feel both nostalgic and new in such a completely cohesive way.
Tiny Ruins are a band based in Auckland, New Zealand. Conceived in 2009 by songwriter Hollie Fullbrook to describe her solo output, the group now includes Cass Basil, Alex Freer & Tom Healy. Traversing early influences of folk and blues, Tiny Ruins’ sound draws on ethereal and grungy soundscapes alike. Sometimes likened to Nick Drake, Mazzy Star or Nico, Fullbrook’s voice and guitar work evades cliché, making use of alternate tunings by way of her own self-styled fingerpicking. Lyrically one of a kind, stories are laced with a dark humour that is at times disarmingly confessional, at others, cryptic and philosophical.
Fullbrook was born in Bristol, England, before moving to New Zealand with her family at the age of ten and settling in West Auckland. She learnt the cello from a young age, picking the guitar up and writing songs in her early teenage years. Asked to support Alasdair Roberts in Sydney, May 2010, she was signed to Australian indie label Spunk Records on the strength of some demos. Tiny Ruins’ debut Some Were Meant For Sea was released in 2011 and saw critical praise for its minimalist approach & lyrical flair. Recorded by Fullbrook and producer Greg ‘J’ Walker (Machine Translations) in a small hall in South Gippsland, the album was voted 2011’s Album of the Year by BBC World Service arts & culture programme ‘World of Music’ and was a finalist for New Zealand’s Taite Prize in 2012. Tours of New Zealand, Australia & Europe followed, with Fullbrook performing solo, and later as a duo with Cass Basil on upright bass, supporting The Handsome Family throughout the UK.
Joining forces with drummer Alex Freer, Tiny Ruins evolved into a three-piece, recording a bluesy EP, Haunts, together in the Waipu bush, before working with Tom Healy at The Lab in Auckland on their second album, Brightly Painted One. Championed by the New York Times, NPR and David Lynch, it won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2014, and saw a joint release by labels Bella Union, Spunk Records and Flying Nun.