This interview feature is part of a new Scene Report on Dunedin. Check out the series here.
When it came time for us to put together our year-end Aotearoa albums list in 2025, there were a few priority inclusions.
Salt Water Criminals, the Dunedin-born, Auckland-based rock band led by Reuben Scott and featuring members of Office Dog, Daffodiles, and Awning, made it into the top 20 on our countdown thanks to I Believe in Dog, their highly promising second album.
“I Believe in Dog, their second album, is a hell of a rock record, jumping between slowcore, alternative rock, jangle pop, and more with ease,” we praised.
“Salt Water Criminals are one of the most pleasing grassroots success stories in recent New Zealand music, building their reputation through exhilarating live shows. What I Believe in Dog shows is that they sound just as strong on record. A third record from these impressive musicians should see them refine their music even further.”
When we launched our special Scene Report on Scott’s former hometown, then, we knew it was the perfect excuse to get to know the band better.
It turned into a revealing interview.
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When asked how he would describe his music to a potential fan, for example, Scott provided probably the best response Rolling Stone AU/NZ has ever received to that question: “Maybe if Phil Elverum from The Microphones joined Green Day in like 2001.”
If that doesn’t sell a new band to you, we don’t know what will.
Scott shared his love of Dunedin bands past and present, including one of the city’s current best outfits, Pearly*.
On the city itself, he told us “Dunedin was the perfect place for me to make those first big steps in becoming a musician, learning how to perform, how to write, and how to record.”
Read the full interview below.
Salt Water Criminals’ I Believe in Dog is out now.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How much did music influence you in early life?
Reuben Scott: I grew up watching my old man play guitar, every other hour of every day. I was amazed by what he could do from such an early age. From then on music has dominated my life. I never thought to do anything else.
What artists influenced you growing up?
Early on it was all about blues players that my dad shared with me, Alvin Lee and Gary Moore and stuff like that. But I must have heard Green Day on the radio at some point, I would have reacted to it because I ended up with a walkman and a Green Day CD when I was five. It really started there, my obsession with distorted guitars and crashing drums and catchy songs. My taste evolved — Nick Cave came around years later, and when I started making music alone in a room I would be obsessing over the lo-fi masters, Chris Knox, Elliot Smith, Phil Elverum.
What are some career highlights so far?
I went to Real Groovy recently and saw a guy, someone I don’t know, with a Salt Water Criminals t-shirt on. Of course it’s great when your friends support you, but seeing those strangers show up to the shows — not in the smokers’ area, buying merch, who have so much they could be doing with their money on a Friday or Saturday night — that’s what I find most amazing.
Tell us about your latest album/EP
Our second album I Believe in Dog came out in May last year. It’s a collage of sorts, another home-made rock record that doesn’t shy away from sounding like a home. I noticed that I was speaking about God a lot in my songs, as if to direct them towards someone, but no one that I knew personally. I think it was a way of making my songs useful. That’s where most of the songs in I Believe in Dog come from.
What kind of personality traits and values do you believe it takes to succeed in the music industry?
Unfortunately, a lot of the personality traits that get you places in the music industry aren’t ones that I really align with. Not much of a talker. Don’t like taking photos of myself. I’ve always hoped, and believed to some extent, that a musician should be able to do little else than make and play music, and if what they make is true to themselves then they will do quite well.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
Maybe if Phil Elverum from The Microphones joined Green Day in like 2001? It’s power-pop with a healthy dose of randomness.
What are your goals for 2026 and beyond?
To spot some more Salt Water Criminals t-shirts out in the wild. To write a bunch more songs that I’m proud of.
Tell us about your connection to Dunedin. How important was that city to you?
Being a part of a scene was important to me. I grew up in the suburbs, not knowing where all the music nerds were. That period in the ’80s and ’90s in Dunedin, great bands hanging out with great bands, all making stuff that was important, is the kind of thing I’d dreamed to be a part of.
When I moved down there in 2017, the surf-rock boom was real and unmistakable. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it was a scene nonetheless, and me and my band Three Quarter Marathon got right in there playing our weird brand of emo and post-hardcore.
Dunedin was the perfect place for me to make those first big steps in becoming a musician, learning how to perform, how to write, and how to record. And I think the city rubbed off on me, the cold, the bricks, especially in “House of Highs”.
Who are your favorite bands/artists from the city?
From before our time, anything Chris Knox was involved in, particularly Toy Love and his solo work. Currently, Pearly* are excellent.
What’s your favourite venue in the city and why?
The Crown. Without a doubt. It’s the only one that has stood the test of time. It remains. And I hear there’s been some kind of call from new residents living nearby to have it shut down? If that is on the cards then I strongly encourage anyone who loves Dunedin to rally against that.
If you could change one thing about Dunedin’s music scene, what would it be?
I think the university could do more to prop up local bands. They run big events, orientation week shows that thousands of people go to, but don’t book many local bands. To get the respect of the local scene you need to celebrate it, and I’m not sure that’s happening a whole lot.
