bReview: Tom Lark
Thursday 10 April 2025 at Neck of the Woods
Words by Evie Richardson
Photography by Brenna Jo Gotje
Thursday night sees Neck of the Woods smothered with a heavy fog, the mark of a prematurely overused smoke machine. It casts an eerie anticipation, and rightly so. Tonight is the live debut of Tom Lark’s new album, Moonlight Hotel.
That anticipation is certainly something that’s cast itself over me. It’s easy to discover an artist live and in the moment sing their praises, claiming you’re their new biggest fan, pledging to go home and dip into their entire discography. I’m incredibly guilty of this, but for me Tom Lark was a rare exception of following through on my word.
When I first encountered Lark on stage, close to a year ago, the one thing that stuck out was the way he manipulated his guitar. Somehow his acoustic strings were emitting sounds that shook the room and hung in the air. Incredibly, he was shredding an acoustic. On Thursday night whispering through the dingy smog, my friend, a first time Lark listener, leans over to me and mutters ‘how’s he doing that with his guitar?’ His awe filled observation reminds me of the exact way I felt when first seeing Lark live, captivated.
Debuting his new album, Moonlight Hotel, on Thursday night, Lark seems to cast this same captivation over the entire room.
But first, it’s Neive Strang’s turn to cast her spell over the audience. The Ōtepoti based musician brings a soft set to the stage that leans perfectly into its instrumentality. Strang, accompanied only by bassist Sean Donnelly and drummer Chris Michael O’Connor, manages to seamlessly cast a blanket of sound over the crowd, wrapping us up in the music. She treats us to snippets of her third album, Find Me in the Rabbit Hole. produced in collaborations with bassist Sean.
It’s clear that the record has left a space wide open for vocals and lyrics to shine, which the live performance enables - the trio’s harmonies filling the space and casting an illusion of an orchestra in front of us. The eclectic crowd has started a steady sway, peacefully swallowing up the beautiful musicality Strang has served up.
(Neive Strang opening for Tom Lark at Neck of the Woods / Photo: Brenna Jo Gotje)
The dreamy haze left behind by Strang almost makes it easy to miss Lark as he moves onto the stage. He clings to the shadows, shuffling to the mic and dons his signature serious stare before striking the first chords of Fuselage, the most recent single from the album.
More room on the stage seems to be taken up by two lifesize glowing cacti than the band itself, with Lark flanked by only two companions, James Dansey on drums and James Macdonald on keys. Despite their humble size, the three-piece delivers sounds that are anything but small.
The talented trio should be credited for their stagecraft more than anything, the three skilled musicians delivering a cacophony of sound through multiple simultaneous instruments. Dansey has an alluring harmonica dangling around his neck for most of the set, which when noticed, produces a yelp of excitement from me (I hold a deep soft spot for a harmonica solo).
(Tom Lark at Neck of the Woods / Photo: Brenna Jo Gotje)
While I wait in anticipation for the harmonica to take centre stage, I’m treated to the rich jangles of a tambourine played by Macdonald’s right hand, while his left is busy caressing the keys. Each song comes with its own complex arrangement of sound, which to the average ear makes it almost impossible to deduct what instrument each note is coming from. As Lark manipulates his guitar it's anyone's guess as to what chord is being struck on the keys, strings or drum. This DIY style cacophony of sound manages to pick you up and transport you inside each of the tracks.
Unique twangs of sound come with each and every song, Dumb Luck is full of futuristic electronic sounds juxtaposing with the raw folky lyrics and instrumental base of the song. Despite the folk base underpinning all Larks songs, each one has a whimsically spacey feel to it created by the complex layers of sound.
However, it’s clearly Lark and his guitar that hold centre stage the entire night. By the fifth song, Rock & Roll Baby, the band has loosened up in true rock and roll fashion, with Lark and his guitar taking up far more space than seems possible. His enjoyment and experimentation of the new album is obvious during Busy Living, bringing new notes to the live performance.
(Tom Lark at Neck of the Woods / Photo: Brenna Jo Gotje)
As the end of the set nears I haven’t shaken my awe at Lark’s guitar mastery, Brave Star and Live Wires, two tracks from Lark’s previous album, highlight this with complex finger picking patterns done effortlessly. At one point the lights dim, plunging the entire stage into darkness, only the guitar is left illuminated, reminding us who the real star of the show has been.
By the final song, Something to Tell You, pulled deep from Lark’s 2015 EP, the audience has managed to let loose. But all too soon the final twang of the guitar rings out, and as quick as he crept upon the stage, Lark is gone.
I’m left with a similar giddy exhilaration as the first time I encountered Lark live, and casting a gaze around the room it’s clear the debut of Moonlight Hotel has had the same remarkable effect.
95bFM 
