22 Nov 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

The Rocky Bay Midnights - Album Review: Songs About People We Know

10 Oct 2021 // A review by Kev Rowland

The Rocky Bay Midnights are a Waiheke Island-based group who first started some three years ago when Meredith Wilkie (vocals, percussion) and Kyla Dyresen (keyboard/piano) were both independently looking for musicians, to work with, and decided to form a band together. It took quite a while for them to settle on the current line-up of Simon McDowell (drums), Dione Denize (bass) and Julion Wright (guitar, saxophone) and now they have just released their debut album. Meredith and Kyla were the ones who formed the band, and they are at the height of everything which is going on, with Kyla’s piano often underpinning the music, while Meredith’s vocals are broad, rich and full of passion.

Although musically they are quite different, I found that I was reminded me of a few other female-fronted bands such as Mudbelly and Green, as in all cases the bands have wonderful musicians and songs, yet the attention is taken by the person behind the microphone, such is the power and force of their performance. One aspect I really like about these guys is the way that in Julion they have someone who can perform on two very different instruments, and when he takes on the sax he has a wonderfully wailful tone which fits in perfectly with the vocals.

This does not come across as a debut album as there is a real breadth of material, and whether they are playing classic soul, RnB or more into rock, they are perfectly at home. Light My Candle is so laid back and luxurious that it almost feels like it is falling over, while Scaredy Cat belongs firmly in a blue club. They have approached the recording of the songs with the live environment in mind, which means that we often do not have a guitar as the sax is deemed to be more important and while Julion can double track in the studio he can’t do it on stage. This means that there is a deliberate hole in the sound, allowing Simon and Dione to provide the force and platform for Kyla who has a wonderful approach to piano. It is obvious that Meredith and Kyla work on the material in such a way that if there were no other players they could work as a duo, but the other guys add additional colours and tones to make this what it is.

From beginning to end, this has real depth, and the result is an album which can be played repeatedly with a smile on the listener’s face throughout.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

About The Rocky Bay Midnights

What happens when two dedicated songwriters coincidentally create almost identical Facebook posts, each seeking a band?

In 2018, Kyla and Meredith met via two nearly identical posts posted eleven days apart on a Waiheke Musicians Facebook group. It didn't take long for them to realise that something special happened when they wrote together - and thus The Rocky Bay Midnights were born!

The Rocky Bay Midnights (The RBMs) are a group of experienced musicians from Waiheke Island who love to make music with soul. An all-original soul-rock-jazz-psychedlic extravaganza, their songs span a range of emotion as well as sound. Their debut album, Songs About People We Know, is a collection of songs that feature histories, lessons, and experiences of the writers - that listeners can relate to. Their songs are sometimes comedic (Light My Candle), sometimes painful (You Must Stay, about a phone call from from a suicidal loved one), and occasionally a bit staunch and fearless (Leave Him, about a best friend in an abusive relationship). Their songs are all “true stories” and have a fierce yet vulnerable, emotionally raw but simultaneously polished, quality to them.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for The Rocky Bay Midnights

Releases

Songs About People We Know
Year: 2021
Type: Album

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem