bReview: bar italia
w/ support from Ngahere Wafer
Saturday 13 December 2025 at the Hollywood Avondale
Written by Alex Fox
Photography by Joel Armstrong
bar italia occupy a position of being both staples of the current indie rock scene, and one of its most exciting acts. Hailing from London, the three piece of Nina Cristante, Sam Fenton, and Jezmi Fehmi are a brilliant example of how collaboration is a deadly weapon in the music game. Their new album, which they are here to celebrate, Some Like It Hot, is one of the best releases in the space this year. The three share vocal and songwriting duties, and the latter two ply their trade on two guitars, with each and every song representing the chemistry and teamwork between them.
Opening for bar italia was Aotearoa’s own Ngahere Wafer, immediately announcing himself through bass that shook the venue. Solo on stage, it was an intimate performance, clicking through backing tracks in a way that felt charmingly impromptu. This was, of course, so he could get through the ‘sad ones first’ to have more fun as the set went on. The sad ones in question were just those with the more personal, introspective lyrics, and moving a bit slower. But at no point did the vibe drop; instead, these slower songs provided gritty, bassy, loud synth lines, droning through the venue. By his own admission, the music wasn’t exactly what you’d expect opening for bar italia, but the crowd was enthralled all the same, wrapped in the deep, luscious echoes of his tracks, and his sombre vocals, straddling the bounds between rap and bedroom indie pop.
(Ngahere Wafer opening for bar italia at the Hollywood Avondale / Photo: Joel Armstrong)
There’s a reason ‘start as you mean to continue’ is a saying that has stood the test of time. Even before they’d started performing, bar italia had made something clear about their intent: they’re not here to waste anyone’s time. In darkness, they take to the stage, and immediately jump into their first song. From the first second, the band brought such an energy to the stage - Cristante, positioned in the middle of the stage, was already swaying. I’m a sucker for a band that has two guitars, and from the moment the song started, I knew I was going to love the rest of my night. Fenton and Fehmi have such a natural chemistry, even when just strumming their hearts out. Importantly, the song also introduced a far more core aspect of the band’s chemistry: at no point was one of the members barred for too long from vocal duties. The three swapped and switched throughout songs with an intentionality, with each bringing something unique to the songs, weaving a vibe that while flexible, and exploratory, is still undoubtedly, and importantly, British.
Song two began before you could take a breath, and the same goes for their third, one of the Album’s singles. It brought a more melodic tone to the guitar; the interplay between the two was perfect, at times balancing each other out, and at times going all in in a chaotic combination of the two. “It’s so nice to be back,” said the band, a surefire way of getting any Kiwi crowd to feel good. One of the audience members took the brief moment of silence, one of the few in the entire show, to call out “let’s rock and roll,” which was met with a laugh from Fehmi.
The fourth song, I Make My Own Dust, was a personal favourite. Darker, upstroke heavy guitars, and a deep, inflection-filled vocal performance on the chorus by Fehmi, followed by Fenton belting, interspersed with Cristante’s angelic vocals, is exactly what I love hearing from this band. Their fifth, for the first time, took a moment to slow everything down. A number with some bluesy guitar, we saw a return of Cristante on the tambourine. When energy drops mid concert, there can be a moment where the band needs to work to get it back. But bar italia hold a unique skill. While the energy might not be on stage for a single song, they keep it in the room. There was a tension in the Hollywood that was soon broken. The drums, the bass, and the guitars all came back, at full force, and it was like they never left. The reprieve is just that, and now the band continued with their exhilarating rock.
Their eighth saw Fehmi introduce the acoustic guitar, further emphasising he and Fenton’s interplay, as the latter continued to pluck away on the electric, over Fehmi’s rhythm. The two performed the chorus together, with Cristante taking the rest. Their ninth song, Rage Quit, was the only one they stop for enough time to announce and introduce. The song itself was extraordinarily short, seeing Fenton and Fehmi performing soft vocals together.
By their eleventh song, I realised that, despite my focus on the trio, not for one moment had either the drummer or bassist stopped playing to the highest calibre. So, shout out to them for being the relatively unsung heroes at the back of the stage.
The rest of the set was full steam ahead for the band. Loud, fast, and high tempo, the band were unrelenting, with each song starting at full throttle, and winding down in an instant. Just when I thought it impossible, Fehmi gestured to the sound team to make his guitar louder, which, really, should be a comment on how much the band wants to leave it all out on the stage. Every bit of energy is being pumped into this performance, and they’re pulling no punches.
A quick “Thank you Auckland,” and the band left the stage.
I’ve been known to complain about an encore, especially one that goes on too long. Thankfully, however, the band didn't choose then to abandon the ethos I’ve spent the last however many words praising. To the tune of a heavily distorted bass, they returned to the stage about as quickly as you can while still actually having an encore, although not to jump straight back in. The group finally seemed to have a breather from the intensity that they’d carried on the stage all night, and took a moment, with extremely distorted guitars, to jam for a second, the way all post-punk bands want to do.
The first song of the encore saw Fehmi return to the acoustic guitar, for a folky song that brought almost a sense of whimsy that managed to cut through the band’s intensity. All three took to the mic, and once, showing that their co-operation doesn’t end at switching vocalists; for this song, they are a single, cohesive unit. With that, however, the band returned to their all out offensive, and the crowd went with them. Every instrument was played with a ferocity, every member of the trio singing their heart out, and there was not a band member staying still. The venue was dancing with them, and why not? Now 17 or so songs in, and the energy had not dropped for more than 10 seconds. This is what rock music is all about.
With that said, bar italia is certainly a band that wears their inspirations on their sleeve. That’s not to imply that the band have no identity, and its certainly not to be reductive. At almost every moment, you can feel the soul of some band or sound that inspired what they do shining through. Fenton stands on the stage with short, spiked hair, and a t-shirt that altogether reminds me of early 2000s Matt Bellamy. The music, similarly, reminisces on earlier eras of British rock; at times, the inflections and guitars reflect the sensibilities and character of late 90s Blur and Damon Albarn, the swagger of Jarvis Cocker, or even Bloc Party’s duelling guitar lines and Kele Okereke’s slightly choppy vocals. This influence isn’t restricted to the British Isles either, with many riffs and guitar melodies reminiscent of post-punk revival bands like Interpol. Each of these influences comes and goes as the band members take on the burden of the vocals, or balance the guitar work. bar italia’s music, and their performance, is a love letter, a tapestry, woven through each of their talented performances, to those eras of indie rock that have since come and gone, performed with a vigour and intensity that makes it very clear that these sounds have not died, and they can definitely still be cool.
I entered the Hollywood Avondale on a saturday night as someone interested in bar italia, and I left a diehard fan. It's easy for me to like them; they sit right in my wheel house, and, again, any band with two guitars has a shortcut right to my heart. But there’s more to this band than just their indie rocker vibe. There’s far more to them than their love for the greats of post-punk and adjacent rock around the turn of the century. This is a band that lives to perform, and you could feel that passion oozing out at every point of this gig. bar italia are a band that stand for passion, for intensity, and for energy. This is rock and roll.
95bFM 
