Serebii takes things to ephemeral heights - GIG REVIEW
Amber Liberté is swept away by Serebii's ethereal performance at the Auckland Unitarian Church.
Last year, Serebii (Callum Mower) invited me along to his show at Neck of the Woods, where he put on a world class performance. This time we sent Amber Liberté along to review Serebii’s new show, at the Auckland Unitarian Church, where he debuted his latest single, Verrans Corner, with support from SPDRTWNBBY (Nia Vavao).
The sweet, sticky, near-feb sundown sounds with SPDRTWNBBY and Serebii was a heavenly way to end a humid January. Taking after the overseas trends of musicians playing in churches, it makes perfect sense to use a place of worship built with incredible acoustics as a venue to disrupt creative expectations and aid our eargasms.
As a choreographer and movement artist, music and musicians have always been a core part of my identity. I make music videos, I go to lots of gigs, and I dance to a huge array of sounds. Back in my teens, I used to get lost in listening sessions on YouTube at the family lappy when broadband was fast enough to stream. I’d click random, cool album art only to be pleasantly surprised by the aural experiences. A lot of stuff these days - and I blame Spotify - feels undercooked. After the early 2000s golden era of music-treasure hunting on YouTube, it seems like some appreciation for, and complexity of bands has been lost in the algorithm of café cover songs and lo-fi beats to help us be good little citizens. SPDRTWNBBY and Serebii, though, bring it back to the same kind of magical YT adventure as stumbling upon exceptional artists who know their craft well.
I first came across SPDRTWNBBY and her guitarist, big al. when the Bin Juice editor, Alex de Vries, put together Forage Fest at Basement Theatre - and honestly, the whole crowd's jaws dropped to the floor when she started singing. I also found Serebii through Alex, who invited us to their gig at Neck of the Woods. The experience was like stumbling into a new world of pixie-like playfulness, and that body feel of being surrounded by a densely spiritual forest out West, with enough mushrooms for all. I want to live there.
When I listen to music, I'm usually here for music that has nuance, layers, texture, playfulness with rhythm or time sigs, and - bonus - when it’s live, an energy that seeps into the crowd. These pleasure points help keep my busy brain occupied, make me wanna boogie, and hit the feels just the way I like. I love rhythms that are off-kilter or mess with predictability and soundscapes that build worlds in your mind’s eye. Both SPDRTWNBBY’s acoustic set and Serebii's impressive 8+ piece band (at times), ticked all those boxes and left me feeling like my body had been flooded with the serotonin I always desperately seek from sound.
SPDRTWNBBY’s voice is sweet and sticky like some kind of toffee apple bevvy with fresh mint you'd have on a date with a long-time lover, paired with a caramel dessert that oozes everywhere and makes you think for just a moment that heaven is real. Under the blue and orange lights, there was a sense of balmy, end-of-summer dusk in the air. Her voice and big al.’s guitar teased rhythms in ways that embody their exceptional knowledge of their instruments - and one another. I think a few audience members didn’t have them on their radar, but they sure as hell will now. The setting, Auckland Unitarian Church, added a certain reverence to the vocals too — I'm sure all the saints (and sinners) were listening intently. I certainly was. I kid you not, even the instruments for the following act seemed still in reverence.
I've listened to Serebii’s 2023 album, Inside, a fair bit since going to their Neck of the Woods gig last year, to emulate that first Serebii come-up I had. It's a great LP - like a moment in time that encapsulates one variant of Callum and the crew’s togetherness. There’s so much detail and layering. However, I don't think the band's fullness can be appreciated until it's seen live. Gracing us with intoxicating moments like the opener that built to a very satisfying introduction of drums, or the slow build into Really You the responses were truly visceral. My friends began the set laughing at me for how much I writhed in pleasure but by the end, they were right there with me. There was something beautiful about the choice of venue in being a place of worship. Even though I’m not religious, I love spatial venues, with good acoustics. Neck of the Woods gave an intimate vibe, while the Auckland Unitarian Church expanded the intimacy so that it could be appreciated on every plane. It felt like lying under dappled light in the presence of lovers and close companions - and so very serotinal, as many of the lyrics reference. The band's art of deep listening to one another made for a smooth organism that intricately felt every microsecond with each other. If anyone out there is super visual, think of Serebii as some kind of millennial/Gen-Z magical Fantasia comeback through sound, with Celebi as the main character (of course). Warm, intoxicating, fun, cheeky, sad, and sleek. I hugely appreciate some of the references in the writing too. From more obvious neo-soul, folk and electronic flavours there are also subtle callbacks to classic NZ dub vibes, Robin Pecknold style vocals that are haunting, textures a little similar to Doprah (an excellent band from Ōtautahi), and soundscapes of Aotearoa’s native birds, the music is intelligent and sensitive.
Like Callum's inspiration taken from the Japanese concept of komorebi, the slickness of the band has taken to the concept of mastery too - with each musician attuned to a flow state that danced through the swells and pulses of multi-instrumentalism together. The essence of serenity - but also joy and tease, captured beautifully.
I eagerly await the new upcoming album, Dime, to be released on 28 March, after hearing Verran’s Corner live, but I know nothing will beat how preciously ephemeral it is to see this kind of experience in the flesh. I can’t wait to see Serebii, or SPDRTWNBBY live again.
Contributor - Amber Liberté (Auckland, New Zealand)
Photo credit (B&W) - Daniel Fletcher
Photo credit (Colour) - Amber Liberté