Ding dong sound. A woman’s faint voice. “We’d like to advise passengers that this is a full sailing.”
If you’re hearing this, you’re probably on a ferry, crossing a body of water somewhere, or you could also be listening to the opening moments of Holding My Cold Hand, Even Though Yours Is Warm, one of the best rock albums of the year so far.
It’s the debut of Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington band Menzies, a part-concept album, part-Aotearoa coming-of-age epic which is imbued with the sort of audacious originality that it takes much more senior bands years to deliver.
My headline isn’t hyperbolic: in under an hour, Menzies reference trays of sausage rolls, the one and only Suzy Cato, living legend Don McGlashan, tūī birdsong, and so many other Kiwiana hallmarks. (“All Black” features the names of, I’m presuming, All Black rugby players whom this Scot is unfamiliar with; evidently, judging by the lyrics, Menzies’ members have enjoyed a sexual awakening to several of them.)
And through it all, the Interislander, the much-maligned but essential ferry service that connects the country’s North and South Islands across the Cook Strait, looms large.
It’s the Interislander PA system that you can hear in the opening track, “Crossing”, and during various other brief interludes. “It’s made it to be listened start through finish like a ferry crossing between the North and South Island,” lead singer Chris Brown (not that one) tells me.
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Not everything on Menzies’ debut lands — being this formally audacious will always lead to the occasional miss — but the hits come thick and fast. Listening to these tracks, you wish more of their rock contemporaries were this bold and playful and unafraid to try something new.
Menzies’ originality has already caught the attention of MJ Lenderman, one of modern rock’s biggest and best stars, who was impressed by their performance at Camp A Low Hum.
Brown, with his formidable spoken word vocals, often sounds like a Kiwi version of Sue Tompkins, the inimitable lead singer of Glasgow’s brief but brilliant art-rock band Life Without Buildings, or The Mutton Birds (hello, Don McGlashan); the atmospheric post-rock of Black Country, New Road be a more recent touchstone.
Menzies enjoyed some chart success earlier this year — “Mash Potato” (No. 11) and “‘Appy” (No. 7) reached the Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles Chart — but it feels like they’re a band best enjoyed up close.
Menzies have a number of dates left on their Aotearoa album tour, starting in Ōtautahi Christchurch tonight (July 24th). Check out their remaining tour dates here.
I’m sure Menzies used their beloved Interislander ferry to get to their South Island shows, but one thing eludes them so far. “We’ve yet to perform as a band on the ferry but very much look forward to the opportunity if it ever arises. Feels like a New Zealand rite of passage,” Brown says.
If anyone who works at Interislander is reading this, you know what to do…
We caught up with Brown as part of our Up-And-Coming Aotearoa Artists series to find out more about Menzies, their excellent debut album, and more.
Menzies’ Holding My Cold Hand, Even Though Yours Is Warm is out now.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How much did music influence you in your early life?
Chris: A huge amount. My dad’s a big music lover so I grew up surrounded by music, and started playing piano around age 9 or 10. I grew up listening to Neil Young, The Pogues, The Beatles, Loudon Wainright, Gillian Welch. Dave Dobbyn was the first live concert I can remember going to at the Opera House in Wellington.
What artists influenced you growing up?
Hard to say what played an influence and what didn’t, but music that got a lot of air-time was: Neil Young, The Pogues, The Beatles, Loudon Wainright, Gillian Welch, Bob Dylan, The Mint Chicks, The Phoenix Foundation, BB King — this was music that came from my dad that I latched onto at various points.
More recently, we have a huge variation in taste across the band which I think helps to bring lots of different ideas to our songs. In recent years I’ve adored Yo La Tengo and Black Country, New Road, but every member of the band would have a very different answer.
What are some career highlights so far?
We love playing live. Any time we play a show where there’s a wonderful connection in the room we love. We played a Renegade set at Camp a Low Hum, which MJ Lenderman caught and had some lovely things to say which was really special.
We played a show in Raglan on our last NZ tour and the crowd was amazing and rowdy. At one point I ended up hoisted into the crowd on a few people’s shoulders while I saw our then-guitarist Miles swinging his guitar like an axe through the audience.
We’re really interested in the live show being as fulsome an experience as can be -—we’ve thrown 20 gloves into the crowd, the recipients have until the end of the song to find their glove-mate, [we’ve] had four balloons blown up that have to [be] kept off the ground or else the band stops playing, [and] magic-tricks mid-set.
Who first came up with the idea to make a part-concept record?
In recent years I’ve worked as a children’s entertainer – ninjas, Easy Bunny, a bunch of Santa Clauses, Darth Vader (that suit’s the hardest to see and breathe in!), lots of kids birthday parties. The other one that comes up a lot of course is Spider-Man. I had this wonderful gig where I got on the Interislander in Wellington at about midday, sailed down to Picton, and performed as Spider-Man for an hour on the way down, got off with enough time for a Subway 6-inch, only to go straight back on the same boat and sail back up to Wellington and perform again as Spider-Man, getting back into Wellington at about 11pm.
On that trip I realised just how beautiful the overhead intercom announcements are. They’re really like a part of the New Zealand conscience — the colouring in competition, the entertainment announcements, the cafe opening, the full-sailing warnings.
I recorded them all without a clear idea of any use for them, just because I adored them. When we came to record the album later that year, I was really excited by the idea of threading these announcements through the album so that the record plays out start through finish like a crossing between the two islands.
I’ve always loved full concept albums — The Streets — A Grand Don’t Come for Free, Evelyn Evelyn – Evelyn Evelyn — and wanted this album to work start through finish as a full experience.
Is the Interislander ferry a trip you’ve all taken many times?
Ohh yeah, more times than we could count across the band. From family trips, to sneaking pals across in our teens, to performing as Spider-Man. We’ve yet to perform as a band on the ferry but very much look forward to the opportunity if it ever arises. Feels like a New Zealand rite of passage.
Are you looking forward to your national tour?
We can’t wait. We love performing live. That’s really what it’s all about for us. We’ve got some special surprises lined up for the shows. And we’re really looking forward to playing in some parts of the country we’ve never played before — Whanganui, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Ōtepoti Dunedin. We’re also lucky to have some incredible support acts throughout the motu that we’re really excited to see.
Where’s your favourite place to play in Aotearoa?
Don’t have too much of an answer for you here — we love playing anywhere where people love music <3
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What kind of personality traits and values do you believe it takes to succeed in the music industry?
Hard to say what it takes to succeed because by no means would we describe ourselves that way. But much like being a wonderful human, the things we cherish and value most are a strong sense of community and support — looking out for one another, no one’s in competition. The more the merrier.
A core tenet for us is fun — the only reason we do any of this is for fun — the joy of making and sharing music and the puzzle of trying to make something that feels real and true and exciting.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
We’ve been described as crooked alt-rock and like: The Mutton Birds, The Front Lawn, Black Country, New Road, Courtney Barnett, The Clean, MJ Lenderman, Life Without Buildings.
What are your goals for 2026 and beyond?
We’re touring across Aotearoa in July and August so we’re really excited to play and enjoy those shows. We’re keen to play as much as possible throughout the motu through the year. We’ve got a bunch of new music we’ve been working on. And we’re in early conversations about some potential shows that require crossing the Pacific Ocean going forward 😉
