bReview: Revulva - Album Reminder Tour
at Double Whammy, Friday 11 April 2025
Words by Mikaela Stroud
Photography by Rosa Nevison
Friday night, April 11th, the air is crisp and the Karangahape Road strip is alive as ever. Walking down the familiar George Court steps to Double Whammy, on my way to see Revulva’s Album Reminder Tour, opened by local alt-RnB group Skilaa.
The 8 piece band [Revulva] hail from Wellington, fronted by Phoebe Johnson and described as ‘Nu-wave, Nu-Jazz, Nu-pop goodness’; a soft serve swirl of silky smooth and effortlessly cool goodness. Skilaa and Revulva match energies like fire and ice, with Chelsea Prastiti’s (Skilaa) vocal agility and tight technical instrumentals contrasting with the softer, rolling funk feel and tongue in cheek lyricism of Pheobe Johnson.
Even though I was there around 8:40, the main room was still only just starting to fill. I watched the stage as Skilaa walked out, bathed in amber light backed in blue. As the familiar guitar intro to “I Never Knew” began, the interwoven harmonies of Chelsea and vocalist Helen Pahulu transported the audience into their beautiful sound garden. Chelsea threw out line upon line, weaving harmonic tapestries between rhythmic lyricism reminiscent of 90s hip hop and nu-wave jazz fusion, effortlessly teasing and playing with the harmonic palettes at their disposal.
(Skilaa, opening for Revulva at Double Whammy. / Photo: Rosa Nevison)
From Scratch Me Out to Southern Gothic, Skilaa explored every colour of their sonic canvas from dreamy vocals to dissonant beautiful choas. They sadly missed my favourite track, Bite like that, from their lineup. A small price to pay for a gorgeous opening set, rolling out the red carpet for Revulva with style, something both bands had been looking to do for years and finally come to fruition.
(Skilaa, opening for Revulva at Double Whammy. / Photo: Rosa Nevison)
As Revulva took the stage, it was clear that whilst it was an album reminder tour, they needed no reintroduction. The place was packed tight, all ages ready and waiting. As they walked out, I was amazed with the spread of musical talent. An array of instruments were brought on, including an ingenious percussion setup to be used by trombonist Kaito Walley. The band oozed with confidence and swagger as they took up their positions across the stage, from the left starting with Walley, Mysty Cooke on Trumpet, from the right Toby Leman and Lily Shaw on sax (Shaw doubling with Flute), with Phoebe front and center on bass and vocals. Behind sat the rhythm section, with Lennox Grootjans on drums, Hector McLachlan on keys and Zane Hawkins on Guitar. This was the look of a band that was in complete unity with each other, of one mind and yet all beautifully different.
(Revulva at Double Whammy. / Photo: Rosa Nevison)
They opened with Boing Flip, set up with a disco funk groove complete with cowbell, highlights from Shaw on flute and Walley on Trombone. The band bounced beautifully off each other, all tied together by the ribbon of Johnson’s silky smooth lyrical stylings. From Beep Beep, So Fine to closing with a bang on Bush Bash, an unabashad horny anthem, each track spelled out the woes and realities of today all the while dripping with sensuality and playful energy, all wrapped in delicious nu-funk fusion goodness. If your feet weren’t tapping, you were dancing across the main stage floor. The gig was bittersweet, as this performance will be the last for a while for the group as they move their separate ways across the globe.
(Revulva at Double Whammy. / Photo: Rosa Nevison)
As the album reminder tour came to a close this April, Revulva has bid adieu to NZ for a short while. But it’s not goodbye, it's just see you later. So until then, their funk fantasy will live on in Revulva, their self-titled album. Listen to Revulva on Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music.
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