bReview: Jazmine Mary 'I Want To Rock And Roll' Album Release Tour
at Double Whammy, Saturday 26 July 2025
Written by Harriet Healion
Photography by Milad Asadi
Released under Flying Nun Records I Want To Rock And Roll is a bridge over water, a facet of discovery, and a nuanced approach to self-reflection. In a press release on Under the Radar, Mary describes the devastation and heartbreak they experienced while writing the album. In moments of relief, Mary found energy to write.
There is an unparalleled sensation you realise when experiencing the rawness of an artist's vulnerability. They expose themselves on stage; an oath of pure emotion, laden with deeper meaning. Maybe I, nor the spellbound crowd, truly understand the depth of which Mary writes, but their new album, 'It's Time to Rock and Roll', is a party for the dead, an itch that needed scratching, a lost scream in an expansive night.
Double Whammy is unusually quiet; the bare concrete walls and the ominous illumination of the empty centre stage created an eerie gravity. The crowd was older than I had expected, which I put down to my presumption that anyone daring to venture into the likes of K-Road on a weekend had to be between the ages of 18-30 (which has now been proven otherwise).
The night is opened by Julia Deans, well-acclaimed singer of the Wellington Rock Band Fur-Patrol. Only knowing Deans from her Rock background, I was intrigued the moment she began 'High and Clear', from her 2010 album, Modern Fables. Her voice is poignant, and her deep folk tones bring the crowd to a complete standstill. The crowd breathes. A sigh that acknowledges time gone and the fun to be had.
Julia Deans is an artist who finds magic in the presence of a live crowd. She speaks of how it feels to lose someone you love, and how in the midst of celebrating their life, you are met with a bittersweet truth, a hollow space where their love and laughter should be. Despite partying till the early hours of the morning and admitting to being "more than a bit dusty", Deans created an atmosphere of quiet reflection and meditation. Her voice is slightly weathered, maybe tired from a late night of celebrating a life. Hollering, "fucking harmonics", her presence is magnetic, and the audience is captivated by her raw authenticity. She played through a short set of original pieces, mostly from her Modern Fables and We Light Fire albums.
The final track of her segment is 'Shadow of the Mountain', a piece written with New Zealand artist Delaney Davidson. Written as a ballad to the struggles and odds of life, this piece speaks of climbing a seemingly insurmountable mountain and looking back at how far you've come. Julia has a way of performing that makes it less about the songs themselves and more about letting each listener take what they need from her music to heal.
Jazmine Mary, accompanied by a small but earnest band of three, took the performance to another level. There is Babe Martin on the keys and vocals, Louisa Nicklin on the bass, saxophone, and vocals, and Arahi with the drums. Each member of the contingent contributes a thoughtful element to the band. Transcending pure entertainment, Jazmine Mary showed the audience how they want to 'Rock and Roll', think gently, carefully, and sensitively. The night was not for listening, but for experiencing, feeling the weight of the music they write, an intangible bid to understand the complicated truth of simply living.
No song could have opened the set better than the title track, 'I Want to Rock and Roll'. Mary takes to the stage and immediately captivates the space. The audience thickens, yet there is still room for a particular stillness. Babe Martin stands with her eyes closed and head back, often looking down to smile at her bandmates. There is a sense of an unspoken knowing, a connection between the group that is intimate and careful.
''Memphis", a hopeful folky track, carries a catchy chord sequence that instantly has the audience swaying in unison, think Country gone Indie-folk. Jazmine plays a handsome, deep blue Gretsch Streamliner and dons a hot-pink, Mamma-Mia-esque suit. A person in the front row has their hands twisting above their head, 'dancing as if no one's watching'. To me, they encapsulate the soul of the album, music as a whole body experience. With a cheeky "well, I love ya" from Mary, the band continues to soothe the audience. The set featured a few tracks from their 2023 album, 'Dog', and a couple of covers, but mostly consisted of their newly released pieces. 'Narcotics Anonymous Meeting' is a poignant piece; steady, understated, and for easy listening.
Louisa Nicklin boasts incredible musicality, playing both the bass and saxophone whilst supporting on the vocals. All members of the group are incredibly in tune, Mary often beginning a piece with their back facing the audience, taking time to journey as a group. They introduce their next piece, 'Dancer', as a ballad to death. This track charted the NZ Official Music Charts and was announced Top 10 in the Student Radio Network Awards in 2021. There was a subtle theme throughout the gig. One of reverence for lives lived and gone, the beauty of life, and the peaceful acceptance of how it will inevitably end.
They cover ‘Take a Walk on the Wild Side’ by Lou Reed. The crowd finds more movement, but the atmosphere remains delicately respectful – it’s rare to see a basement so rooted in stillness. Here, Jazmine Mary has created a community, a collection of people yearning to love, learn and enjoy some damn good music.
There is something undeniably iconic about a vocalist pulling out a flute mid-set – made even better with an ecstatic "aallllright!" shouted from the back of the room. Mary doubles as a flautist in their single 'In a Field'. The audience is delighted with the abrupt instrument switch, and the set finishes with an unfurling excitement.
Jazmine Mary writes from a place that bellows to be heard, enmeshed with passion, love, strength, and a sweet tenderness. Throughout the set, the group transformed, storytelling in a way that took me by surprise. Jazmine Mary is truly whimsical in demure, yet undoubtedly fierce in truth.
95bFM 
