Issue 15 | July 09, 2012 | critic.co.nz

MUSIC
For Reid and Rossiter, life on the road is a something of a
“suspension of reality.” Rossiter explains: “In real life, there’s
all of these very complicated problems that need solving all
the time. But when you’re on tour, everything is completely
immediate and you get to do what you love doing every day.”
Luckless
After 45 minutes of hearing Morris describe
various places around New Zealand as “shit
holes,” Rossiter took to the stage with an electric
guitar and a drum machine. Rossiter’s style has
been described as “distorted abrasiveness and
looping chaos,” and like a darker KT Tunstall, the
girl could use a Boss looper pedal like nobody’s
business. There is a chance that Rossiter was
once told she wouldn’t be taken seriously unless
80 per cent of her chords were in the minor key,
but the intrigue and quality of the sound in no
way suffered from this.
Apparently having attended the class at guitar
school on reverberation and arpeggio and wagging
all the others, Rossiter’s set was engaging
and extremely enjoyable, with songs “All I Want
Is Sleep” and “The Others Fill This Room” being
my favourites. Though her chat wasn’t great,
when Rossiter sang, one had the sense that one
was seeing the artist stripped back to her true
self. And it was profoundly stunning.
Nadia Reid
was looking forward to this set, having seen
I Reid perform numerous times in the past. With
a style that has been described as “acoustic new
folk” echoing artists like Beth Orton and Laura
Marling, Reid showcased this exquisitely by beginning
her set with an soul-stirring a cappella
number. A bold move that very few could pull
off, Reid executed the song flawlessly and would
continue to indulge the audience with “new originals
and old favourites,” as promised by the
tour’s press release, for the rest of the evening.
Accompanied by Richard Pickard on the double
bass, Reid was on the acoustic guitar for most of
her songs, including “The Rise And Fall,” which
Reid wrote when she was only 17 and which was
featured on the 2011 documentary When A City
Falls. Reid’s set was utterly transfixing. She did
not just sing, but truly performed, every last
note (it got to the point where members of the
crowd were cheering mid-song) and there was a
haunting wisdom in her lyrics that had the crowd
enchanted from beginning to end.
The night ended with Reid and Rossiter collaborating
on a few of each other’s songs and ended
with an enchanting cover of “Long Black Veil.”
After almost three hours it was over, but I left
wanting to hear more. The best gig I’ve been to
all year, I sincerely anticipate Rossiter and Reid’s
return to Dunedin one day soon – though it was
their first alliance, I hope it will not be their last.
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